The Tamed

Warming up

Xiao Zhan just woke up when he heard the gentle knock and opened the door. One glance was all he took and he could tell that Lan Wangji was conflicted with something in his mind. Yawning in his sleeping clothes and in the midst of putting on his outer robe, he invited him in.

Despite seeing this view almost daily for the past weeks, Lan Wangji still couldn't stop himself from admiring the naturally beautiful young man in the loose attire. It made him forget his dilemma momentarily as he stared at the man while they both took a seat at the table.

Xiao Zhan raked his fingers through his untied hair. The long dark hair fell luxuriously to the side of his head, framing his gorgeous face. He spoke in a half whisper as Xue Yang was still asleep, "What's troubling your mind, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Wangji had to pull himself out of that distracting view to utter a reply, "I had a dream."

"Another one? What is it about?" Xiao Zhan asked curiously.

Lan Wangji concisely briefed his words to see how the other would react, "The pledge. Nightless city."

Xiao Zhan hummedd, squinting his eyes to gather his thoughts before recognition dawned upon him. "Oh. That. When all hell broke loose." He looked at Lan Wangji, analyzing his expression before he spoke softly, "That must be a horrible sight to see in your sleep."

Lan Wangji was pretty sure that the event was not just a dream, but still he needed to confirm it further. He requested, "Please tell me about it. In details."

"Hmm... Where should I start?" Xiao Zhan paused to tie his hair and drew in a long breath, he began, "So... This is how it went..."

Lan Wangji listened to his detailed story of the pledge conference scene as requested until the part where the two fought on the roof. He interrupted, "I fought against you?"

"Technically, it's not me but Wei Wu—" Xiao Zhan stopped talking when he saw Lan Wangji hung his head low and his expression looked like he had committed the worse sin. He loomed closer to his side. "What's wrong?"

Lan Wangji answered bitterly, "That was what I dreamed of. And I wasn't on your side."

Xiao Zhan finally realized that Lan Wangji's dream was a glimpse of the 'future' event. Feeling bad for him for getting another tormenting nightmare, he coaxed, "Lan Zhan, listen to me. That 'future' is not about me and I promise, it won't happen this time around. So, don't beat yourself up for things you never did. Besides, I have yet to come to the most important part of this story."

Lan Wangji lifted up his head, "Which is?"

"You never left his side. You saved and hid him away after that rampage." Xiao Zhan halted briefly to contemplate whether he should continue or not. Eventually, he decided to be truthful. He spoke again, "Lan Zhan, I will be brutally honest with you. For him, you even got punished severely. You went against your uncle and thirty-three of your clan elders. Die to that, you got 33 discipline whips. That was how far you went for him."

Lan Wangji's eyes widened slightly at the statement with a mixture of disbelief and confusion. He stayed silent for a while, his turbulent of emotions appeared on his face.

Xiao Zhan went over to sit next to Lan Wangji's side and patted his shoulder, comforting him with physical affection, "Now, that is not the future, we are going to have. I will not allow it to happen, alright?"

Lan Wangji hummed noncommittally before he turned his head to face Xiao Zhan and asked, "How many people died that night?"

"There wasn't an exact number but somewhere around three thousand." Xiao Zhan answered, putting an estimation based on what he knew. He shuddered at the thought of enormous casualties that happened in the novel and bloodbath was not uncommon in this ruthless cultivation world. He told himself that he would not end up like Wei Wuxian albeit he knew that one day, he might had blood on his hands as well. It was inevitable since he chose to live as 'Wei Wuxian'.