The Remedy | The Untamed

Chapter 10

Huaisang was deep in thought, when he jumped, scared by a hand appearing on his shoulder. The brush fell out of his hand.

"What are you doing? I thought you would be sleeping in or at least hungover after yesterday, but here you are, my sweet early bird." He kissed the nape of his neck.

Huaisang smiled, turning to look at the man. He pecked him on the lips, while caressing his shoulders.

"We didn't drink too much. We mostly talked."

"Hm, I clearly saw Lan Wangji carrying him out of here on his back," he chuckled.

"Okay, I didn't drink that much, he got totally wasted."

"Thought so.." He sat down and pulled the man onto his lap.

Nie Huaisang smirked at that, but his face lit up even more.

"I see that someone is in the mood," he stated, moving his hips a little bit and getting a light groan in response.

Jiang Wanyin looked him deep in the eyes, "I love you" and kissed him passionately.

After a while his tongue slipped into A-Sang's lips and his hand reached to undo his robes. His lover did the same. They were both out of their clothes in no time and lying on the floor, Jiang Cheng towering over Nie Huaisang.

At that moment both felt that life may be easier from now on.

***

"Brother left seclusion," Lan Wangji said as soon as he stepped inside the Jingshi.

Wei Wuxian smiled. "It looks like Nie Huaisang said some meaningful words which influenced that decision."

Hanguang-jun noded. "Mn. I will send him a 'thank you' letter tomorrow." He came up to sit beside his husband, who looked surprised.

"Can't you just go to him?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Ohh, you don't know. Nie Huaisang and Jiang Wanyin left for Qinghe in the afternoon, when you were having a picnic with our disciples by the river."

Wuxian's lips formed an 'o' shape and his shoulders dropped.

"That's a shame. But they are both sect leaders so it's quite understandable," he pouted his lips.

"I thought you knew," he looked around the room till his eyes stopped on something. "Ehh, of course you haven't seen it, you probably were too distracted by something as usual," he chuckled, standing up and going to his desk table.

He picked up a neatly wrapped package and came back, handling it to his husband, who looked at him questioningly.

"Sect Leader Nie left it for you before leaving. Take a look at it, while I will go to bring us some supper."

Lan Wangji left and Wei Wuxian started unwrapping the package, wondering what could be inside.

A beautiful wooden box with a lotus flower carved on the lid laid in front of him. He opened it slowly and a soft smile appeared on his face. A letter and a paper fan. 'It's so in A-Sang's style,' he thought.

He took the fan in his hand, and when he unfolded it, there were two magnificent paintings. One at each side of the fan. The first one showed three figures, two boys and one girl on a wooden pier. Boys were lying down and the girl was seated, but all of them were on the edge of the pier, their legs in the water. The girl was peeling lotus seeds. There was water around them. Water and a lot of lotus flowers. His home.

He turned the fan around. The painting on that side also made his heart ache a little. It showed him and Nie Huaisang catching fishes in the river, with big smiles on their faces. Those fond memories were beautiful and painful at the same time. Each detail was breathtaking and Wei Wuxian really felt short of breath, his tears threatened to fall.

He put the fan down without folding it back, so he could look at it a bit longer, and took the latter to read it.

"Wei Wuxian,

Do you remember those joyful and sweet moments of our innocent and calm youth? The times before it all went down the drain? I do. It's all so vivid in my mind and I will never be able to forget it, because those moments shouldn't be overshadowed by what followed later on. We shouldn't be afraid to cherish them. Guilt isn't an excuse to forget.

My brother said this to me some time ago, "All that happens to us is already predestined from the moment we start growing in our mothers' bellies. It may take a while to come to terms with our fate, but we shouldn't let it hold us back. We should live on, because everything that has to come to us will come when the time is right."

Hold your head high my friend and don't be ashamed to hold onto the past. It's still a big part of who we all are now, and it will forever remain the same.

A-Sang

Ps. I hope you like the fan. You know, that I was always better at expressing myself through art rather than through words.

Pps. Visit us in Yunmeng during the summer and celebrate our wedding with us. We will be glad to have you and Hanguang-jun there at such an important moment of our lives. Remember that no matter what, Lotus Pier will always have it's door open for you.

Jiang Cheng"

***

That night Lan Wangji didn't have to worry about his husband's lack of sleep. He slept peacfully, with a small smile on his lips.

'I wonder what he's dreaming about,' he thought.

At that precise moment young Wei Wuxian was running alongside his younger brother, both laughing cheerfuly.

"Try catching us, Shi-Jie."