𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 !!
❤︎
y/n - your name
w/n - weapon's name
r/n - reincarnated name
c/n - courtesy name
❤︎
LAN Y/N GAVE JIANG CHENG A CHARMING SMILE WHEN THE YOUNG DISCIPLE LOOKED BACK AT HIM WITH THAT SHARP GAZE OF HIS.
lan y/n's carefree expression turned into a guarded look almost immediately when the clouds began to gather above their heads. he jumped down from the roof of the boat as he leaned on the edges. he dipped his fingers in the water, furrowing his brows at the extreme coldness of its temperature. he retracted his fingers scowling at the black threads that got tangled up in his fingers. "is something wrong, lan c/n?" jiang cheng asked, turning his body towards the younger. lan y/n held up his fingers, motioning to the black threads. "these things are everywhere. look at the plants, nearly everything is dead."
and he was right.
when jiang cheng looked at the water, not only was it dark and murky, but the plants were dying as well, looking all sad and withered. a rumble in the water suddenly caught their attention. lan y/n nearly fell on the water when the boat tipped over to him, and he let out a surprised yelp as he felt something grab his robes, trying to pull him down the water. he reached an arm out, trying to grab something, but he could only grasp at the air. that's when someone grabbed his hand, stopping him from falling into the water.
"jiang-shixiong!" the yunmeng disciple pulled him up, the force of his strength making the lan disciple crash onto his chest. jiang cheng immediately wrapped one hand around lan y/n's waist, keeping him balanced as he used his other hand, which was gripping his sword, to release a powerful slash of spiritual energy towards the water. once he was sure the water ghoul was gone, jiang cheng looked towards the short figure in his arm and asked, "are you all right?" lan y/n sighed in relief, and slowly nodded his head as a reply. he noticed their position after a second or two, and he quickly pulled away, clearing his throat as he felt his face heat up. jiang cheng only raised a brow in confusion.
suddenly, from the depths of the black water, a giant pillar of water rose, letting out a thunderous roar as it wriggled around. it destroyed some of the boats, taking up the disciples from the boats with it. "a waterborne abyss?!" lan xichen exclaimed, shielding his face with his long sleeves. the disciples carried up by the waterborne abyss soon fell into the water as it continued wreaking havoc on the lake.
lan y/n got on his sword along with the other young masters. they circled around the waterborne abyss, doing their best to avoid its watery doom. "it's too strong, and difficult to exterminate. let's focus on rescuing the disciples." lan y/n looked down at the said disciples, watching as the waves crashed against the upside-down boat they were desperately clinging on to for life. "again, why did we bring them with us?"
"jiang-gongzi and wei-gongzi, bring a-y/n with you and form a team. jin-gongzi, you will come with me and wangji."
peeling off the other group, everyone quickly got to work. lan y/n veered away from the deadly whirlpool while dodging the strands of black threads that shot towards him. he dodged a surge of water from the rising pillar of water, but he didn't see the black threads that came from in front of him. "lan y/n!"
reacting to the sound of their voices, lan y/n jumped off his sword, the black threads reaching out towards the place where his feet once were. as he began to free fall, his sword, wrapped in an aura of blue flames, began to follow him while it burned away the black threads that tried to grab it.
he fixed his stance so he was falling feet first. before his feet could touch the water, w/n caught him. lan y/n smiled as he, on top of his sword, zoomed all over the lake, gathering the attention of the black threads while wei wuxian went to grab the now unconscious su she, from on top of the upside-down boat. a few black strands still chased after him and he tried to get away as fast as he possibly could, but his sword, suibian, couldn't carry twice its master's weight.
"wei wuxian! up here!" called jiang cheng from up above. he began climbing upwards, su she in his hand. with his free hand, he reached out towards jiang cheng, who had his hand outstretched. just before they could grasp each other's hand, wei wuxian was grabbed by the black threads.
the sudden force pulled him downwards, making him release the unconscious su she. lan y/n reacted immediately after he saw the falling bodies. he caught the unconscious su she first, carrying the man in his arms. he was still being chased by the black threads, so he couldn't stop or double back for wei wuxian. he climbed up the sky, reaching jiang cheng. unlike suibian, w/n was as powerful and headstrong as its master, with a burning desire to rid the world of all evil, hence the flames.
he handed su she to jiang cheng before looking down at the water. "you're not- lan c/n!!" lan y/n could barely register a word jiang cheng said, as he had already jumped off his sword, diving down deep in the water. w/n hovered in the air for a moment, as if it was a lost child waiting for its mother before it began to chase down its master at high speed.
when he had plunged into the watery depths, lan y/n cringed in disgust at the sight of all the rotting corpses down below. he saw wei wuxian's body floating towards a dark whirlpool. black threads wrapped around lan y/n's body, but he didn't struggle as it was pulling him closer to the whirlpool and towards wei wuxian. when he entered the whirlpool, it was so dark, lan y/n could barely see his own hands. not to mention, the terrifying amount of resentful energy surrounding him. lan y/n thought that he would faint.
he saw the faint outline of wei wuxian's figure, just floating there. when he reached a hand out, lan y/n swam towards him, grabbing his hand and snapping him out of whatever trance he was in. wei wuxian looked at him in shock as he opened his mouth for a brief moment, probably to scream, but he quickly closed his mouth. lan y/n shook his head before he reached a hand out to summon his loyal sword. he wrapped an arm around wei wuxian's waist as he grabbed the handle of his sword. w/n began pulling them up the surface, where a hand reached down to the water, grabbing wei wuxian by the front collar.
lan y/n was also grabbed, but the person had grabbed onto his headband first, tugging it loose. lan y/n could care less as he felt someone grab onto his back collar.
when he was brought back to the surface, he drew in a sharp breath. "lan c/n! lan c/n! are you all right?! can you hear me?!" lan y/n groaned, his eyelids blinking heavily. "jiang-shixiong...?" he whispered. "ugh, this is why i hate the water."
when the group returned to caiyi town, the sun was already setting, painting the sky with a beautiful mix of orange and purple hues. lan y/n was beside jiang cheng while they returned, as jiang cheng had offered him his outer robe to warm him up. but lan y/n was still shivering. jiang cheng's face softened at the sight of him. "oh right, i forgot to return this to you." jiang cheng said, pulling out a white object from the inside of his robe. it was lan c/n's forehead ribbon. he held it delicately, carefully as if his life depended on it.
lan y/n didn't seem too bothered by it though. he knew how much the forehead ribbon meant to the disciples of the gusu lan clan, but he really couldn't be bothered, mostly because the clan never really accepted him as their own. he stared at the forehead ribbon for a while before a smirk formed on his lips. "it's been a while since i actually tied it on myself." he began, which earned him a confused look from jiang cheng. "what do you mean?"
"we're not allowed to remove it, remember?" he chuckled, pointing a finger at the object. "i just wanted to ask if you could tie it on me, instead?" jiang cheng looks down at the forehead ribbon, seemingly asking himself why lan y/n would want him to tie it. most disciples of the gusu lan clan wouldn't want just anyone to touch it, so why was lan y/n asking him to tie it? of all the times he could forget...
jiang cheng shrugged. no use in thinking about it now.
he walked behind lan y/n, and carefully wrapped the ribbon around his forehead, making sure that his bangs weren't in the way. he tied the knot behind lan y/n's head, making sure it was tight enough. "there you go." he says, placing a hand on his hip. lan y/n glances at him over his shoulder. "thank you." he smiles sweetly.
"gege! gege!" lan y/n's head snapped towards the shore, where five children waved at him excitedly. huaisang stood behind them, a tired smile on his lips. "hey!" lan y/n smiled brightly, quickly getting up and jumping from the boat, and to the other to get to the shore. when he got there, the children happily jumped into his arms.
"gege! you disappeared so suddenly!" shin mei whines, tugging at his sleeve. "yeah, tell us what happened!" zhuli adds, a pout on her cute lips. lan y/n smiled warmly. he could feel his heart melting at the sight of all the children welcoming him back after his harrowing experience with the waterborne abyss. he didn't say anything, he just brought them all close to him in a hug, inhaling their comforting scent.
"you all smell like the sun." he quietly says. "well, while you were out, we got huaisang-ge to play with us!" the older twin, shang yiu explains as lan y/n pulls away from them to stand up. he carries ping in one arm, while he holds zhuli's hand. he looked at huaisang and smiled. "thank you for looking after them." he says.
zhuli begins to tug his hand, dragging him back towards the house. "huaisang-ge taught us how to paint! now we can decorate the kites you made us!" the twins chattered happily, recounting everything that they experienced with huaisang while their caretaker was gone.
huaisang sighed happily as he watched the group walk back to their house on the outskirts. "nie-gongzi," someone says over huaisang's shoulder. he looks around and sees lan xichen, smiling. "those children, who were they?" he asks. huaisang opens his fan and nervously begins to fan his face. "o-oh, i'm sorry, y/n made me promise not to tell you anything." he says, hoping that xichen would understand. "he said something about cutting off my pinky..."
lan xichen laughed softly. "knowing him, he's probably just joking." he assured huaisang. although, if he was being honest, xichen was quite interested in those children. when he saw his younger brother interact with them, he saw genuine happiness in his eyes. he looked at home, and best of all, at peace with those children. he wanted his brother to look at him like that, but he didn't know how to gain his brother's trust when he looks at him the same way he looks at his elders.
lan xichen couldn't do anything but sigh.
lan y/n snuck back to the cloud recesses during late in the night. it took him a while to return, as the five children were far too exhilarated after spending the whole day playing with huaisang, then helping lan y/n hunt for their food in the forests. it was around 8 in the evening when he could finally tuck the five children to bed. he looked around the school grounds, checking for any wandering lan zhan's. when the coast was clear, he jumped over the walls of the cloud recesses and made a break for his shrine.
as he passed by the guest dorms on the way, he saw a figure sneaking around in the darkness of the night. he realized it was huaisang after he turned around, looking everywhere to make sure he wasn't being followed. "what are you up to, babysitter?" lan y/n whispered to himself. he saw him knock on the door before it opened and revealed wei wuxian, looking suspicious.
lan y/n smirked. "oh, those idiots." he laughed as wei wuxian dragged huaisang inside. lan y/n snuck inside the dorm room through an open window, and he was immediately hit with the scent of alcohol. he chuckled, seeing three young men drinking to their heart's content.
he knocked on the window, and the three snapped their necks towards him almost immediately. lan y/n burst out laughing. "you three are are such idiots, you know?" he chuckled, climbing down the window and taking a free seat on the wooden square table. "do you have a cup for this disciple?" he asked, propping his knee up and resting his elbow on it.
wei wuxian, nie huaisang, and jiang cheng all shared a look. wei wuxian smiled. "lan y/n! i wasn't expecting to see you out here at this hour!" he laughed, giving him a cup of alcohol. lan y/n thanked him before sipping on the cup. "come on, shufu's gone so i can do whatever i want!" lan y/n smiled and sipped on the cup.
he let out a pleasant sigh when he downed the cup in one gulp. "woah!" wei wuxian and the other two laughed. "give me another!" lan y/n grinned.
after a few drinks, huaisang was already getting drunk, with his face all red and his words all slurred. "wei-shixiong, this liquor is really good!" huaisang said, drunkenly pointing to the alcohol, but ended up tipping it off the table. lan y/n caught it before it could splash onto his clothes. "careful now." he chuckled.
unlike the rest of his clan, he could actually handle his alcohol better than most in his clan. he only began to feel the effects of alcohol after one or two jars. he shook his head and poured himself another cup. "of course the alcohol is good! here in gusu, we drink the emperor's smile, fragrant and mellow," lan y/n rolled his eyes as wei wuxian lovingly eyed the cup of alcohol he held. "refreshing but not aggressive, smooth and powerful."
lan y/n looked at jiang cheng as wei wuxian described the alcohol. they both shared a look before breaking out in giggles. lan y/n's body tipped towards jiang cheng as he giggled drunkenly. jiang cheng raised his brows as he poured himself more alcohol. "just drink the alcohol, you make it sound like a person."
"jiang-shixiong, i disagree. i think wei-shixiong is making an excellent point!" huaisang interjects, holding a cup of wine towards wei wuxian. jiang cheng peeled a few peanuts before feeding them to lan y/n, the former, resting his head on his knee. "as a wise man once said," huaisang looks towards wei wuxian. "fine beauty is like fine wine." they both clinked glasses.
jiang cheng amusingly raises a brow as he feeds more peanuts to the quietly giggling lan y/n. "if that is true, you shall find your partners by following the fragrance of liquo-" jiang cheng was cut off at the end when lan y/n reaches a hand out to press it against his face. "what?" he asks, looking down at the lan.
"you stopped feeding me." lan y/n groans, looking up at him through his long lashes. wei wuxian laughs. "oh, don't be like that! i will be fine as long as i have wine!" he says with a smile. "yes, yes, it's as they say; accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. all wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle!" lan y/n recites, laughing loudly at the end.
nie huaisang and wei wuxian cheer loudly as they clink their glasses. jiang cheng only rolls his eyes as he picks up more peanuts. he peels them then begins to feed lan y/n again. "i don't know how the gusu lan clan can put up with the two of you." he says. "hey! i'm adorable!" wei wuxian whines. "i hear the elders find me irresistible. that's why they keep me around." lan y/n adds with a charming smile.
"yeah, besides, it's just you. no one can ever match up to your standards." wei wuxian adds. jiang cheng glares at him as he crushes a peanut shell in his hands, the broken pieces falling on lan y/n's hair, much to his dismay. huaisang giggles. "wei-shixiong, what standards?" wei wuxian gives him an amused look, which he tries to hide with his cup of wine.
"wei wuxian, don't you dare!"
"beauty!" wei wuxian begins, a large smile on his face. "natural beauty!" he adds. jiang cheng quickly stands up, "you!" he says, forgetting the fact that lan y/n was just resting on his knee. because of his sudden movement, lan y/n's head slams on the ground, allowing a loud groan to escape his lips. "hey, hey, calm down, you just hurt lan y/n!" huaisang says, trying to calm them both down, but to no avail.
wei wuxian stands up and hides behind huaisang. "virtuous and caring!" he says, running around the table and jumping on the groaning lan y/n. "wei wuxian!" jiang cheng roars as he chases after him. "and must come from a good family!" huaisang blocks jiang cheng, preventing him from trampling all over lan y/n.
"ugh, can't they shut up?" he groans, holding his head. "she must not be too chatty and should have a gentle voice!" wei wuxian says, going the other way of the table as jiang cheng chases him. lan y/n yelps as he was suddenly pulled to his feet by wei wuxian, to block him from jiang cheng. "stop running, wei wuxian!"
"she must not be too capable!" wei wuxian adds from behind lan y/n. jiang cheng immediately crashes into lan y/n, as he was a bit too tipsy to hold his balance. they both fell into the floor, with jiang cheng on top of lan y/n.
lan y/n's robes messed up a little bit from the fall, which revealed a small part of his chest. a bright red line caught jiang cheng's eye, and when he looked closer at lan y/n's chest, he noticed ugly red lines that ran down his collarbone before disappearing inside his robes. there were more, but jiang cheng couldn't bring himself to look, it would be highly inappropriate after all. lan y/n's face reddened, both from what was currently happening and the alcohol.
"you wanna hear more?" wei wuxian suddenly interjects, pulling jiang cheng out of his trance. jiang cheng stands up. "wei wuxian! shut up!" he angrily says as he begins another round of merry-go-round with wei wuxian around the table. "they should not be wasteful on money!" wei wuxian begins again. "must be obedient and hard-working!"
jiang cheng pushes wei wuxian down and wraps his fingers around his neck. "basically... the opposite of wei-shixiong?" lan y/n ponders to himself as he lays on the floor, bottle of wine in hand and drunk out of his mind. huaisang on the other hand, was a little bit sober enough to try and pull jiang cheng away from wei wuxian so he doesn't accidentally kill him.
but all the noise seemed to stop when the doors opened, revealing lan wangji. he entered the boy's dormitories after he heard a commotion, and upon entering, lo and behold, there, jiang cheng was on top of wei wuxian, trying to strangle the hell out of him, while wei wuxian seemed to be laughing as huaisang complained, trying to pull the two brothers apart from each other.
wangji looks down at the floor, scowling at the sight of his younger brother with a bottle of alcohol in one hand and giggling uncontrollably. "jiang-shixiong's type is..." he paused to hiccup. "the opposite of wei-shixiong!" he finished before he burst out laughing.
when wangji turned to look at jiang cheng, wei wuxian, and nie huaisang, they were all sitting down, pretending to be good and innocent children. "what are you doing?" wangji asks, his voice strict and firm. huaisang nervously fans himself while jiang cheng quietly sits in the back. wei wuxian laughs nervously. he stands up, approaching lan wangji. "what a nice coincidence." he starts.
"since you're here, why not join us for a drink? have a chat?" wei wuxian offers with a smile. "alcoho-"
"alcohol is forbidden in the cloud recesses!" lan y/n drunkenly laughs. wangji glares at him from the corner of his eyes. wei wuxian smiles sheepishly. "lan zhan, don't be so rigid. try to let loose." wei wuxian smiles, playfully tugging at wangji's robes.
wangji looks at him, and wei wuxian quickly pulls his hand away. "you four, go the punishment chamber to be disciplined." wangji commands. smiling, wei wuxian turns to the two sitting nearby. "where?"
"what chamber?"
"what?"
the two slurs at the same time before they passed out wei wuxian sighs. "lan zhan, you see... they are too drunk to walk." he says. "and look at lan y/n, he's totally out of it." he adds, pointing to the mumbling, half-conscious lan y/n laying on the floor. "so you see... why don't you sit down with me, have a drink, and wait until they've sobered up?"
wangji doesn't say anything. he turns around and begins to march out the door. "ah, lan zhan!" wei wuxian hurriedly calls. while wangji had his back turned, he quickly motioned for the other two. jiang cheng and nie huaisang got up. jiang cheng lifts lan y/n up the floor, struggling a little since he was being stubborn. huaisang had already left long ago, wanting to escape lan wangji's fury as quickly as possible.
lan y/n covered his mouth, feeling as if he was about to throw up his breakfast. jiang cheng lifted the shorter up and hurriedly left the dormitories before lan y/n could throw up.
jiang cheng brought lan y/n far from the dormitories, and for some reason, he decided to follow lan y/n, who was pointing his finger and slurring instructions to jiang cheng. "where are you even taking us?" jiang cheng asks as he continued to trudge through the dark forest. since lan y/n was too drunk to walk on his own, he decided to just carry him on his back.
"home..." he mumbled. "fùqīn.." he whispers. jiang cheng sighs. "you reek of alcohol." he groans.
it wasn't long 'till jiang cheng reached a gravel path, lined with bushes of white chrysanthemums. "are we heading to the graveyard?" he ponders. he was about to turn back, when lan y/n urges him forward, pointing a finger towards the path. jiang cheng shook his head before he adjusted lan y/n's position.
he followed the path, and more chrysanthemum bushes seemed to appear, along with glowing fireflies that seemed to welcome him. they guided him to the top of a small hill, and there, jiang cheng saw a well-kept house, surrounded by chrysanthemums and buzzing fireflies.
"hmm? fireflies are out already?" lan y/n says, still a little drunk, as he stepped down from jiang cheng's back. he stumbled towards the chrysanthemum house. not wanting to see him get hurt, jiang cheng helped him in.
he opened the doors to the shrine, but there wasn't a single person inside, just a few stray butterflies and an incense burner that was lit. lan y/n dropped to his knees before he laid on the floor of the shrine, sighing happily. "hey, where's the bedroom? lan c/n! come on, i'm being nice by helping you! the least you can do is cooperate!" jiang cheng pulls the younger back to his feet.
through some incoherent groans and mumbles, jiang cheng managed to find the bedroom, which was really just the room on the right, covered by a white curtain. jiang cheng nearly screamed when he uncovered the curtain. a fully grown male deer was inside the room, sleeping on a makeshift bedding by the corner.
jiang cheng didn't want to disturb the deer, so he decided to just put lan y/n in his bed and leave.
but fate, or rather, this lazy author, had other plans.
when jiang cheng laid the disciple on his bed, he noticed lan y/n had begun to move a little. although he was a little clumsy, jiang cheng knew that lan y/n was trying to strip himself, to rid his body of the extra layers of heat. "lan c/n! what are you doing?!" jiang cheng exclaimed, his face red with embarrassment as he grabbed lan y/n by the wrists to stop his movement. lan y/n blinked up at him with half-lidded eyes. "but it's hot..." he whines like a child, trying to pull away from jiang cheng's grip.
lan y/n continued to struggle until jiang cheng had had enough. he pushed the younger down on the bed, his head slammed against the pillow as he pinned his wrists beside his head. "stop. struggling." jiang cheng strictly says as he came face-to-face with lan y/n.
lan y/n stayed quiet, just staring up at jiang cheng. it was only at this moment, that the yunmeng disciple was able to fully take in all of lan y/n's facial features.
fair and smooth skin, with a beauty mark below his right lip. three more beauty marks were found below his neck, which jiang cheng noted, to form the three points of a triangle. gold gems were covered behind his eyelids every time he blinked, and his long lashes shined against the moonlight.
before he knew it, jiang cheng had pressed his lips against lan y/n's, tasting the emperor's smile on his lips. he didn't know whether it was just the alcohol, but jiang cheng felt his entire body heat up, as if a fire had been lit deep inside his belly. lan y/n's hands snaked behind his neck, urging him to kiss deeper. it was just a kiss, but jiang cheng felt like he wanted more. he felt his teeth graze lan y/n's bottom lip, to which he let out an airy moan to. the taste of lan y/n's lips felt addicting to him and breaking the rules of gusu felt exhilarating. he simply couldn't get enough.
when the two finally pulled away, they were utterly breathless. the moonlight shone brightly through the open window, and when jiang cheng lifted his upper body to get a better look at the person laying beneath him, he noticed a bruise had formed on lan y/n's lips. he licked his lips. "lan c/n..." he whispered, his hands slowly removing themselves from lan y/n's wrists before traveling towards his face.
lan y/n nuzzled against his hand, before his soft lips left trails of feather-light kisses on his right hand. his cheeks were tinted with a bright red color, from the alcohol, and jiang cheng's sensual touches, which left a path of heat crawling up his skin.
"you're so beautiful." he utters, his thumb grazing over the smooth skin of lan y/n's face. he leans down, his lips meeting the soft skin on lan y/n's neck. lan y/n loosely wrapped his arms around jiang cheng's neck, pulling him closer. he tilted his head to the side and moaned softly as jiang cheng's soft kisses began to turn more aggressive as he began to leave red marks on his collarbone. his hands somehow managed to undo the already loose robes lan y/n was wearing, which revealed his pale skin mirroring the elegant light of the moon that shone from the window.
red lines stretched across lan y/n's skin, contrasting greatly with the color of his skin, making the red color pop out even more. lan y/n pulled his robes closer to him, trying to hide himself out of shame when he noticed jiang cheng staring at him. but jiang cheng was having none of it. he pulled away lan y/n's hands, quite harshly, which earned him a weak whimper from lan y/n.
to make up for his mistake, jiang cheng loosened his grip on lan y/n, before he once again, leaned down, this time, to place soft kisses on the old wounds lan y/n was so ashamed of. "don't cover yourself." jiang cheng whispered. "you're so beautiful, lan c/n." he continues. "ever since i first laid my eyes on you." he says after leaving a kiss on his stomach. "i thought that you were absolutely breathtaking." he trails lower and lower.
the moon was watching them, but jiang cheng and lan y/n couldn't care less even if a gusu lan elder were to walk in on them right now. they were far too intoxicated with the taste of each other's heat. lan y/n giggled at jiang cheng's words of adoration.
"just call me... lan y/n."
( 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 | ✓ )
( words: 5000+ )