MDZS//The Untamed Oneshots

BTHB 2

"Because he broke the rules, that's why! He stabbed someone, Lan Huan..."

Lan Xichen furrowed his eyebrows.

"Only because he was trying to feed his family! And it was an accident, anyway. He didn't mean to. He was only trying to sneak some food off the stall - which I admit, is illegal - but that was only because he has two children that he has to care for. It's not his fault that the shopkeeper caught his wrist, causing him to panic and attack. People's instincts tell them to either fight or flight, and since the flight option was cut off, he could only fight."

Jiang Cheng crossed his arms, huffing at what he thought was a ridiculous train of thought.

"Yes, but what about the shopkeeper? Not only do his goods get taken from him, he suffered physical harm too. What were you going to do about that?"

"We can provide the medication and the compensation for his goods. He comes from a relatively wealthy background; he can afford to lose a couple of fruits and a loaf of bread."

Lan Xichen looked down as Jiang Cheng's weight shifted, sitting up to face Lan Xichen, as if disbelieving that someone would think this. Lan Xichen's eyes were as calm as ever, but Jiang Cheng's eyes were now alight, burning with the need to make Lan Huan see what a big mistake he was making.

"How are you supposed to run a whole Sect with this sort of reasoning? Soon, anyone will be able to do as they like, and if they get caught, the only thing they'll have to do is spin a sob story to get you to let them go. There are lines one cannot cross, or you must suffer the consequences, no matter how desperate you are."

Lan Xichen's eyebrows furrowed further, his hands unconsciously starting to fidget. He was becoming restless. That's not how things work! There are exceptions to every rule, right? In some cases, it isn't black and white, good and bad; everyone strives to do what they think is best.

"I think I can judge for myself how to deal with these crimes. This was a petty crime gone wrong at most. How come you didn't chase after the cultivator who impaled your sister with a sword? Was that not a crime even worse than this? Did that cultivator not break the rules, and by a much worse degree than the cultivator that was just trying to look after his family? Did that cultivator not have more malicious intent? Wanyin, if you're so righteous, why not prosecute the person that killed your sister?"

Jiang Cheng blinks, as if not fully absorbing what was said. His eyes grew cold, and Xichen could feel the temperature in the room drop. Jiang Cheng's walls - the layers of defence built to protect his heart, the ones that Lan Xichen had finally managed to break down - were going back up again.

The room was silent, the words that Xichen had spoke hovering in the air. Lan Xichen swallowed, trying to come up with some explanation, some pathetic excuse he could think of that could repair the wound he had just reopened. Try as he might, all the words, all the explanations, all the 'I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so so so sorry I didn't mean it's were stuck, as if someone had severed his vocal cords the same way he had just severed Jiang Cheng's trust in him.

"You went too far, Lan Xichen."

The words knock into him like he had just been punched. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

Lan Xichen sat paralyzed. It felt like someone else was watching Jiang Cheng stand up. Someone else took control of his body as he watched Jiang Cheng just stand up and turn his back to him. Inside, he was screaming A-Cheng I'm sorry A-Cheng please come back A-Cheng I'll do anything to fix this A-Cheng please let me in again A-Cheng I love you I love you so much it hurts to breathe when you turn away A-Cheng come back to me please-