𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚. mo dao zu shi x male reader

twenty-eight.

when nie mingjue held him so tenderly in his arms, lan y/n had never felt so safe. he felt like he returned to being a little boy back at the cloud recesses in gusu, wrapped securely in lan xiao's arms. that was probably the reason he broke down so easily. lan y/n frowned, remembering his father.

the two servants entered the room and placed the two trays on the table. lan y/n noticed the amount of food in the trays.

"i'm sorry for troubling you this much, nie-zongzhu." lan y/n spoke softly, turning his head in nie mingjue's direction, but his eyes couldn't look at the clan leader's. nie mingjue closed his eyes and entered the room. with a wave of his hand, the two servants behind him bowed and left the room, closing the door. "i see your throat is all well." nie mingjue smiled as he walked closer. his strides were powerful, exuding an aura of confidence and pride. he sat himself down beside a table and poured himself a cup of water while lan y/n rubbed his throat.

his brain processed nie mingjue's words.

he had my throat healed? he stole a glance at the clan leader. he was quickly caught though, and lan y/n looked away in a heartbeat. a brief chuckle left nie mingjue's lips. he offered the glass of water to lan y/n. "here, drink this." he said. lan y/n glanced at the cup, watching the clear water inside the porcelain cup with suspicion. he turned around, refusing the cup. "is there something wrong?" he asked. "no," lan y/n whispered, shaking his head.

"then why won't you drink?" silence followed.

after a minute or two of mentally debating how he would reply, lan y/n took a deep breath before replying, "why are you being so kind to me?" his fingers curled at the blankets, crumpling the soft sheets. he heard nie mingjue sigh slightly. "why shouldn't i?" nie mingjue shot back, one elegantly shaped eyebrow raised. "i don't know, maybe it's because you saw me killing all those wens, and... i even killed... some bystanders." lan y/n glared at his curled-up fist, watching as his knuckles turned white from gripping the blanket too tight.

he felt the bed dip slightly, snapping him out of his trance. he looked up, and immediately felt his face heat up when the clan leader was sitting so close to him. "nevermind that." he held up the cup of water, along with a white pill, which emitted a strange odor. "drink this. you'll feel a lot better." nie mingjue gave the younger a small smile when he just stared at the items, unsure of whether or not he should drink it. "don't make me tell you twice." he warned. lan y/n didn't need any more convincing. he took the pill into his mouth and nie mingjue handed him the cup of water to help him swallow it.

lan y/n downed the cup in one go, relishing in the coolness that washed over his dry and scratchy throat. lan y/n breathed a sigh of relief when he put the now empty cup down. nie mingjue smiled, pleased. "that's a good boy." he said, reaching a hand out to pat lan y/n on the head. "now that wasn't so hard, was it?" nie mingjue took the cup of water from lan y/n's hands and placed it on a nearby table. he then took one of the three bowls of food from the tray the servants brought in earlier. he offered, "come on now, eat." lan y/n looked away. "i'm not hungry." he grumbled. "you must. do you really want to meet your brothers when you're looking like a talking fishbone?" nie mingjue says.

"da-ge and er-ge?" lan y/n's face lights up at the mention of them. oh, how he badly misses them. but his bright expression immediately faded away. "yes. we will be meeting soon to discuss matters regarding the qishan wen clan's aggressive expansion efforts. they're forcibly taking more and more land, and forcing the free people to do their bidding." nie mingjue says, his eyebrows furrowed. "you look troubled, is something the matter?" nie mingjue asks, noticing the distressed expression on lan y/n"s face. "no, it's nothing.. it's just.. the wen clan, they are enslaving the free people." lan y/n mutters. "and they kill anyone who will not submit to them."