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Yunmeng’s weather had never been the most stable, it was temperamental on most days and predictable only one month a year. Storms can come and go, the sun can shine one day and hide for the rest of the week. And when a thunderstorm sets, it’s almost as if it had gained the personality of Yunmeng’s own Sect Leader Jiang.
From their little ox cart, Yiling Patriarch Wei Wuxian raised a sleeve to cover a little one’s head from the drizzle that started to fall a little after passing through Yunmeng’s city gate, “A-Yuan, look at this, I bet someone annoyed your uncle again.”
“Annoy Jiang- shushu ?”
“Umhmm, I bet so. You see that big black cloud there?” He pointed to the crackling thunder in the distance and Wei Yuan’s attention followed his every movement with full concentration, “Doesn’t that look like your shushu ?”
A tilt to the left, then a tilt to the right. Then looked up to a sharp and handsome face that’s watching for his reaction, “Un! Jiang- shushu go raaaar!”
Wei Wuxian laughed readily into the air as the child in his lap suddenly leap up with his tiny arms raised to roar, “A-Yuan ah, you’re really my best boy, the best of the best!” Wei Yuan turned his roar into a giggle when Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around the boy and dragged him back into the man’s lap, blowing raspberries to a soft plump cheek.
As he was used to the interaction behind him, Farmer Zhou could only laugh along with them, “Wei Laozu ah, do you want to go straight to the Jiang manor or do you want to go to the market streets like usual?”
“A-die, A-Yuan want to go to markets. Can we go to markets?” Wei Wuxian looked at this son of his, brown eyes looked into a gaze of silver, pleading and watery with the pout that would make a plum fairy/spirit* proud and shook his head. Settling a flick to the boys forehead, earning a displeased yelp, he leaned back to the bundle of straws on the cart before asking Farmer Zhou to continue to the Jiang manor, the faster they arrive before the storm settles the better.
(*the chinese yao jing type, not the european type)
“Tan’er,” he called, “Didn’t I tell you to stop teaching my son nonsense?”
Red painted lips materialised beside Wei Wuxian’s figure, a hint of smirk hooking one end of perfectly dainty lips while the echoes of bells twinkling in laughter permeate the air, chilling the bones of every passerby around them. They all shiver in fear until they notice the man sitting on the cart, dressed in red tipped black robes, a pair of bright silver that’s always crested in a smile, and most importantly the red ribbon entangled in flowing ivory river. A few of them bowed in greetings, though mostly ran to quickly a) avoid the rain and b) avoid him.
All the while, a pale arm lifts from the folds of silky translucent sleeves to grab at Wei Wuxian’s arm, “Wei Laozu, it truly isn’t Tan’er’s fault. It could the other jiejies intention instead? Isn’t that right little Young Master Wei?””
“Un, Tan-jiejie is right! Oh, but- but Chun-jiejie told me not to tell...”
Tan’er covered her smile with a loft of her sleeves, “See?”
The man scoffed with a childish pout, there’s no trusting people in this economy anymore, “Fine, this particular one is not your fault. Just wait till this conference is over, I’ll show Chun’er who’s boss.”
“Of course you will Wei Laozu.”
“...”
“Of course you will A-die.”
Wei Wuxian gasped at his companions dramatically, wagging a finger between Wei Yuan and Tan’er, “Ohooooo, I see, the puppy eyes were from Chun’er but this sass is from you.”
The traitorous Wei Yuan cackled and nuzzled into Wei Wuxian’s robes, small arms barely stretched far enough to cover the man’s front. When Farmer Zhou finally stopped outside Jiang Manor’s gates, the sight of a white clad cultivator took his breath away, the young man stood tall as bamboo and still as stone, with a mien carved from the calmest of jades and eyes the colour of gold. Blinking awake from his stupor, Farmer Zhous easily recognised this gentleman from Wei Wuxian’s constant rambling from Yiling to Yunmeng, so he simply smiled and cupped his hand towards the cultivator, “HanGuang-jun.”
HanGuang-jun returned the greeting with a bow before his arms are suddenly filled with the founder of demonic cultivation and a grappling monkey child, cheering and calling his name.
“Lan Zhan, you’re here!”
“Rich-gege, you’re here!”
Gazing down at two glimmering pairs of eyes, one glittering in mirth and another in adoration, but both in genuine joy, the great Light Bearer could only soften and melt under such attention. Tan’er glided off the cart and curtsied to the three in their huddle and then to Farmer Zhou before fading away with a giggle. “Since, Wei Laozu have arrived safely, then this old man won’t bother you further. Many thanks for you and young A-Yuan’s company.”
Wei Wuxian extricated himself from the huddle to bow at the farmer, “It was our fortune to travel with you again, A-Yuan come here, why don’t you give the money to Farmer Zhou and thank him?”
From the perch on Lan Wangji’s arms A-Yuan nodded enthusiastically, tugging on the man’s hair to be let down, causing Farmer Zhou to choke at the action while the child’s father laugh up a new storm. Lan Wangji kneeled down to let Wei Yuan off and pressed a piece of silver ingot to his palm, “Thank him properly.”
Wei Yuan happily nodded and toddled over to the elder man, a tiny palm cupped over the other and announced with a practiced monotone, “A-Yuan thanks Farmer Zhou for sending father and I safe to Yunmeng.”
Wei Wuxian crumbled into a pile of dust behind the unknowing child, weak and defenseless against Wei Yuan’s famous assault, the honorable HanGuang-jun had to sweep his remains into white billowing sleeves before Wei Wuxian could dissipate any further. The old farmer starts to bellow a laugh, “It’s my fortune to help out the Yiling’s favourite patriarch and A-Yuan!” Reaching into one of the fruit baskets in the cart, Farmer Zhou handed the excited boy an apple, “Here you go, this is for A-Yuan only, okay?” He said in a mock whisper. Wei Yuan grasped the apple tightly in his hand, nodded, and proceeded to present it to the two men waiting for him, leading another round of laughter.
When a disciple came to guide them into the manor, they waved goodbye to Farmer Zhou. “Madam Jiang and Young Master Jin arrived earlier. They are eagerly awaiting for your arrival at the Spider Pavilion,” the disciple had said as he led them through the courtyard.
As they walked deeper into the compound, past the training disciples and those running around with their chores, Wei Wuxian asked their guide, “Where’s Jiang Cheng?”
The disciple, who looks no older than fifteen, hummed in thought. His features brightened when he remembered and pointed to the west courtyard, “Sect Leader Ouyang and the Ouyang entourage arrived not too long ago, sect leader should be with them at the moment. Should I send someone to inform him you have arrived?”
Wei Wuxian waved off the suggestion, “He’ll find out eventually, no need to bother him.” As they walked on, Wei Wuxian turned to his side. Lan Wangji and Wei Yuan had been walking behind them in silence, hands linked tightly and the poor man had to slouch just so the boy’s hand could reach. But Lan Wangji said not a word nor made a noise of protest, only silently watching the boy with a soft gaze, warm and nurturing. Despite the cold in the air, Wei Wuxian felt like walking under a warm spring day with birds singing to the season and the heady scent of blooming flowers, surrounded by two bright suns.
Wei Yuan noticed his gaze and shot him a grinning smile, reaching for his sleeves. “Xian-gege, come here!”
He allowed the child to tug him down to reach his hands, “Yes, yes, Xian-gege is here.” With a mischievousness he knows not where Wei Yuan got from, the child starts swinging his two linked hands in the air, “Up up!” he chanted. Lan Wangji looked to him in question, as the man wishes more than nothing to fulfill the innocent request.
“Here,” he spoke to Wei Yuan first, “hold on to us tight okay?”
At the confirmation, Wei Wuxian met eyes with his partner and passed him a smile, “It’s something he learned from watching other kids in Yiling, we just lift him up slightly at the count of three.”
“A-die! A-die! Can A-Yuan do the counting?” At Wei Wuxian’s laugh in response, the child started to count with each step. At the end an excited ‘three!’ both adults lifted him into the air to shrieks and giggles as A-Yuan kicked his feet around. The moment his feet reach the ground, the counting repeats, and their short walk to the pavilion is rife with peals of laughter and Lan Wangji’s fascinated gaze between Wei Yuan and Wei Wuxian. Like watching a flower bloom after the bitter and hard cold winter, captivating the heart of everyone who saw. The boy was still none-the-wiser, of course, but his stepfather basked in pride enough for both of them.
As the four of them walked through the main halls and entering the inner gardens, which is more of a ‘pavilions connected by bridges and wooden walkways’ style than anything, the familiar chatters of a woman and a loud golden robed child could be heard.
Wei Wuxian caught himself grinning and waving enthusiastically at her greeting, “Shijie! And- OOF-“ he looked down to an open toothed smile, but well, missing one or two of them. “A-Ling, look at you! I see the tiger has grown more teeth since when I last saw you.” Jin Ling latched onto his left leg, babbling an excited ‘jiu ! jiu !’ even as Wei Wuxian tapped his nose the boy simply wrinkled his nose before going back to his chanting. At the same time, Wei Yuan is trying to give Jiang Yanli a polite bow, looking up to Lan Wangji for quiet guidance. Lan Wangji, in his silent grace, cupped his hands and waited for Wei Yuan to do the same, adjusting his hands and posture as necessary before bowing.
They rose at the same time to her soft laughter, “HanGuang-jun is courteous as always.” Jiang Yanli offered a hand for Wei Yuan to hold and led them to the table where tea and snacks are prepared. She lifted Wei Yuan to perch on her lap and instinctively started to coo and brush away stray hairs from the boy’s chubby face. Meanwhile, Lan Wangji sat opposite the aunt and nephew duo, leaving a seat beside him for Wei Wuxian when he finished blowing raspberries at Jin Ling’s belly.
“How does your brother fair, HanGuang-jun? I heard this year’s annual hunt will be held in Gusu.”
Lan Wangji accepted the cup of tea he was offered before answering, “Mn. Brother is busy, but well. Sect Leader Nie is in seclusion until the discussion, Nie Huaisang has offered help on his behalf.”
“Second Young Master Nie has really grown, Sect Leader Nie must be relieved.” Jiang Yanli received a quiet mn in reply just as Jiang Cheng arrived around the corner.
Dressed in formal sect leader robes, Jiang Cheng looks to be an intimidating figure. His usual short sleeved outer robes had been added with a flowing length of royal purple and lilac brocade, the sleeveless robe is fastened by a wide belt that combines in the middle into a silver blooming lotus. An embroidered white tiger looms above a pine hill, stretching from the bottom of the robes to the length of Jiang cheng’s thigh.
But despite the visage of elegance and power screaming at everyone’s face to bow low and avoid eye contact for fear of offending fate, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Yanli both perked up at the sight of him.
“ Cheng-Cheng ~ Gege is here to visit you!”
“Wei WuXian, shut up! Why are you so late, you said you’ll arrive by morning!”
Ignoring the blistering purple lighting that strikes with no real force, Wei Wuxian turned to Jin Ling in his arms, cooing, “Jin Ling, your jiu-jiu is here. Quick, give him a greeting.”
The boy wriggled out of his dajiu ’s arms and waddled to the Jiang sect leader, the thundering tiger crouched low and admonished the child softly, “Walk slower, you’re not even that good at walking yet. What’s the use of rushing about?”
With no understanding of the conversation whatsoever, Jin Ling giggled through his entire ten step journey to Jiang Chen’s open arms, stumbling on the last step, causing his uncle to sigh and the boy himself to fall into a pit of laughter. “Cheng! Jiu !”
Jiang Cheng lifted the child up and walked straight to his sister by the pavillion, ignoring his whining brother. He gave Lan Wangji a frosted greeting, but managed to soften his expression for his other nephew. Jiang Yanli nudged A-Yuan in encouragement towards Jiancg Cheng, so he hopped off her lap and practiced his greeting bows.
“A-Yuan greets Jiang shushu .”
Jiang Cheng ruffled his hair softly, “At last you have better manners than your dad.”
“Hey!”, Wei Wuxian stomped over to the group, pouting and huffing with hands on his hips, “He learned it from me you know.”
“I doubt a shameless one like you could teach manners properly! I’m placing my bets on Wen Qionglin if not Wen Qing. Hell, even hanGuang-jun here is more possible and he doesn’t even live in your Burial Mound!” Jin Ling watched the spectacle of his uncles going back and forth yelling at each other with amazement, clapping his hand every so often when the insults get heated. Wei Yuan, on the other hand, cuddled over to Lan Wangji’s side and hid his laughter in the voluminous amount of white and light blue fabric.
“Wei Ying has done has fair share,” Lan Wangji interrupted once after a few minutes of squabling, wanting more than to add Wei Wuxian into his arms and paying attention to him .
With pulsing nerves on his temple, Jiang Cheng saw the barely concealed thought and errupted into another set of angry tirades. Wei Wuxian covered Jin Ling’s ears against his own uncle’s screams of proprietry! and show my brother respect, you crude! and had to defend Lan Wangji’s less than innocent intentions.
That was how Jin Zixuan found them afterwards.
Jiang Cheng attempting to grab Lan Wangji’s collar and Wei Wuxian with his son grabbing onto his brother-in-law’s robes to stop him from doing so, while his wife is rocking Jin Ling to sleep.
“A-Xuan, come here. You can hold Jin Ling, he’s almost asleep.” Jiang Yanli beamed at him the way she always does, the last warmth of sunset and the new hope of dawn. The gentle twinkle of her eyes that shows kindness and love with no hesitation, the kind of gaze that he gets easily lost in. As usual, his hands instinctively reach towards her and their child, pulling them both close, but carefully so Jin Ling doesn’t get disturbed.
In his trance, the argument had come to a stop and when he snapped into attention, his two brother-in-laws are staring poisonous daggers at him. Lan Wangji and Wei Yuan just looked at him curiously. “What?”
When no answer came, he frowned and demanded another, “What?”
He was saved from having to pick a fight with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Chen when Wei Yuan tugged onto his father’s robes. “A-die, A-Yuan is hungry.” Round eyes, pleading voice and all.
—————————————
After what was a quick dinner followed by a short debrief of the upcoming days, they each went their own ways. It took a lot of coaxing to make Jin Ling let go of his two jiujius , ones that included the promise of two bedtime stories and sweets the next day. Even then he still demanded both men to give him a long hug.
By the time Wei Wuxian had managed to settle in his rooms, A-Yuan had been bathed and wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets as they night turned cold as a sign of rain. The boy had grumbled a few words before sleep took him with gentle arms. He gave A-Yuan a second long glance before turning to his own bed, placing his outer robes on the screen divider and watched his moon, his star, his light, lean against the headboard with the warm candle light casting beutiful shadows upon his features. Lan Wangji put down his book to let their gazes meet, one sparkling silver and the other molten gold.
No matter how long it has been since Lan Wangji took Wei Wuxian’s face into his hand and spat out the most broken, illogical confession in cultivation history on the edge of Burial Mound’s entrance, the man himself never got used to having the ephereal lord of light in his bed.
“Wei Ying,” he would call, as he always does. With love, with care, and adoration that reached the skies, “Come to me.”
Like an arrow through the heart, Wei Wuxian clutched at his chest, extending a palm to stop the onslaught. “Lan Zhan, please we talked about this. Don’t do this to my heart.”
“Mn. Impossible.”
Despite his whinges and whines, Wei Wuxian could only fold like a piece of wet playing card and fall backwards to the safe cushion of steady powerful hand hands.
He reached a palm up to cup the smooth skin before him, reveling in the heat that slowly suffused into his skin, travelling through his bloodstream and straight into his heart. “Lan Zhan.” He called. Love in his voice.
“Wei Ying.” Adoration in reply.
“Lan Zhan, after this, what do you say coming back with me to Yiling?” Laughing at a nuzzle at his palm, he continued, “A-Yuan kept saying he wants to learn the qin, but you know how bad I am at it.”
The jade carved man who held him nosed deeper into his palm, humming, smiling, “Is that all?”
“Hm, well, Qing-jie wanted to ask you about a few Gusu specific herbs. And oh, remember Youlin? The four year old that A-Ning found a few months back? He hasn’t met you before so I thought-“
“Wei Ying, is that all why you want me to come?”
To a poor, powerless man like Yiling Laozu Wei Wuxian, it was impossible to resist the attacks from a passionate and willy man like Lan Wangji. There was only one last effort he could “Light of my heart, why would I lie to you?”
“It’s true, Wei Ying would not lie.”
Wei Wuxian grinned, he opened his mouth to speak but soon swallowed his words for a yelp as he was pushed onto his back, a wall of muscles anchoring him to the bedding underneath.
“Wei Ying would not lie, but he would. Deflect. With. Words.” Lan Wangji placed a peck with emphasis, running his teeth over the sensitive red lips. “Would he not?”
“Lan-er gege, how shameless! Our son is asleep just behind the separator, you-“
What was it said about a poor, powerless man like Yiling Laozu against a man like Lan Wangji again?
Between their shared air and heated breaths, Lan Wangji nosed at his ear like a petulant child lacking attention, “Wei Ying hasn’t said why he wants me to go to Burial Mounds.” The man placed butterfly kisses all over Wei Wuxian’s face, unrelenting until he was lightly pushed away. Wei Wuxian huffed at a stray hair that stuck to his face, biting on his lips in clear hesitation. If it wasn’t for the honest blush on his face, Wei Wuxian thought grudgingly, he would have been able to dance around it more. In the end, he could only give up and return the pecks himself in louder iterations.
“ Maaaaaaaybe it’s because I love, adore, admire, appreciate you so much that I want you with me forever till I turn grey and old?”
Lan Wangji froze above him, the bright golden eyes of his dreams glimmer in the darkness with a faint spark of surprise. Then it melted into a deep pool of emotions, brimming with captivated love that makes anyone who sees it feel uncomfortable from being fed raw dog food. “For Wei Ying,” If the man himself notices how thick and stuck his voice had gotten, “I am willing to go anywhere, as long as I am allowed to be beside him.”
“Whether it be long rivers,”
A kiss to the forehead.
“Or high mountains,”
A kiss to the fluttering eyelids.
“Even crossing the four seas and eight desserts,”
A kiss to the tip of the nose.
“As long as Wei Ying is willing. I will be by your side, till the sands of time decides to stop.”
Molten gold cast it’s gaze at the pair of red tinted lips, lip that Lan Wangji had been parted from for far too long. Wei Wuxian bit down his groan of embarrassment and curled upwards to snake his arms around familiar shoulders. Leaning closer to each other’s destination as lightning and thunder raged outside their bedroom and the rush of torrential rain poured onto the rooftop, as deafening as their united heartbeats-
But not as loud as Wei Yuan’s cry.
Both men flew off the bed and rushed the boy’s bedside to find him sitting upright, crying while hugging onto his blanket. “ A-die ,” he called between the sobs, “ gege , there’s bad noises. A-Yuan is scared!”
Wei Wuxian cooed, hefting the boy into his arms in one movement and brought him close to his chest. The cries continued as the storm went on, with the occasional intervals of lightning and more thunder. Lan Wangji gathered the father and son close and led them to the other bed, tucking the all into the crooks of his arms and between his legs, a fortress he knows that keeps them both assured and protected.
Wei Yuan’s fingers fist itself first onto Wei Wuxian’s lapels, while the other anchoring Lan Wangji’s arm to stay close. Tears seeping into dark under robes, but no one cared aside from trying to soothe the child. “A-Yuan ah, it’s okay, the storm will pass.”
“But it’s dark! And Loud! A-Yuan doesn’t like it!”
Lan wangji had half a mind to agree with his statement, but Wei Wuxian beat him to it.
“Of course, of course, it’s all very scary! But Mr. Storm is afraid of it too!”
Two of his audience blinked at him, but only A-Yuan spoke to ask, “Mr. Storm hates it too?”
“Mmhm! You see, Mr. Storm is just trying to water the plants and fill the wells and rivers with water, just like…”
A-yuan filled in the prompt with a little bit more pep in his voice, “Like A-ning gege and Sixth Uncle! And and, and everyone else at home when making radishes!”
“ Planting radishes, A-Yuan. But yes, correct! Now Mr. Storm is a bit old now, so he can’t see well in this weather,” Wei Wuxian pointed at the darkness outside their window, “look, right?” A-Yuan nodded slowly, still not getting there.
“Now, because it’s hard to see, Mr. Storm has the God of Lightning and the God of Thunder to help him do his job!” When the next lighting flashes, it illuminated a good part of the room, making poor A-Yuan jump in surprise and the following thunder even louder than before. Wei Wuxian winced, but A-Yuan still has his attention on him. “So, just now the God of Lightning lit up the sky just a liiiitle bit,” he pinched his thumb and forefinger close together and squinted for effect, “because a lot of people are asleep.”
Hearing that, A-Yuan offered them a tiny shhh as a reminder. Wei Wuxian peeked the side to find Lan Wangji placing a finger in front of his lips, a mark of compliance.
“Right,” Wei Wuxian lowered his voice as well before getting reprimanded, “But sometimes Mr. Storm also has trouble hearing so the God of Thunder calls out the way. Although he often forgets that other people are sleeping, so he’s a little loud.”
“Like Jiang- shushu ?”
“I mean- pffffft , yes . Yes A-Yuan, just like Jiang- shushu .”
A-Yuan nodded in understanding, then looked over at Lan Wangji, checking to see if he also understood. Lan Wangji nodded in reply to his unspoken question. The serious face never left his countenance, as if they had both gone through a series of complex lectures about life and it’s meaning.
“But why does it have to be so scary?” The first student spoke.
Wei Wuxian, ever the teacher, replied, “I’m sure they don’t mean to be scary, it’s just really hard controlling the elements. Have you tried controlling lightning and thunder before?”
A-Yuan and Lan Wangji shook their heads.
“See? I’m sure the gods are doing their best to make it less scary.”
“And the darkness?” Lan Wangji asked, earning an approval from the resident 5 year old.
“Well it’s night time isn’t it? And even when it’s not night,” Wei Wuxian lowered his voice again, “they have special dark clouds that are filled with water so it doesn’t leak before reaching the destination.”
Scandalised, A-Yuan gasped at the information, “The white clouds leak?”
And surprisingly, it was Lan Wangji that replied, “Mn, that is why they are not filled with water. They always look light and fluffy, do they not?”
A-Yuan hummed in agreement, a serious expression fell on his face. “Can we help Mr. Storm and the God of Lightning and the God of Thunder?” Before Wei Wuxian could recommend making a talisman of any sort, Lan Wangji nodded and answered, “We can sleep, so they would not feel awkward in disturbing us. Then, they can do their job effectively.”
The boy pondered about it before agreeing to the suggestion. Basking in the energy of successful diversion, Wei Wuxian started to arrange them on the bed for maximum comfort, ending up with the two adults facing each other while A-Yuan is nestled closely between them.
Feeling how sleep is getting closer to his mind, Wei Wuxian blinked imploringly at his partner, “Lan-er gege, won’t you sing us a song?” With a rare and indulgent smile, the man nodded.
It wasn’t even halfway through the melodies of hopes, dreams, and love, the two important people in his arm were happily asleep. Bracing himself for the morrow and what it entails, Lan Wangji let the soft breathings of his partner and son, lull him to sleep.
(He would need all he had to discuss his marriage intentions with their resident God of Thunder.)