Yanli chuckled and intoned,
" Before time ends, two will entwine in an empty cavern,
a shower of red and black, white and blue will ensue and blossom,
As well as a lifetime of woe and pain, but lastly and mostly joy.
Communion unites, and the romance of heaven and hell commences,
Never easy but always worth it.
For their love fights, endures and supports.
The love that will unite the worlds and shatter the realms,
Forever present, always blossoming."
Inwardly, she sighed and swelled with envy and thankfulness. Envy, wishing her love would be as strong as the Fated Pair's. Thankful that she'd already found hers, and wouldn't be tested the way those two would. Then her mind wandered back to two familiar silhouettes. One in a splash of inky black dashed with red, the other a pure, pristine white, with embroidered blue clouds. A splash of red and black, white and blue...sounds about right. She thought, secretly matchmaking.
There was no way she hadn't seen the way the Second Jade of Lan looked at her younger brother. No, her younger brother and child. The lingering glances they gave each other when they thought no one else was looking, the way Wei Ying always had a plethora of reasons to touch Lan Er Gong-zi. Unlike her blood brother, she'd known long ago. Always strove to leave them alone. So did Xichen. Remembering the glint in his eyes when he saw them together and their joint leadership of the 'Wangxian' club, she giggled fondly. Leaving Jiang Cheng to stare at her blankly.
"Jie, why are you laughing?" Dumbfounded, he could only stare on. Jiang Yanli seemed to be in another world completely, so caught up in her ideas that he simply sat in silence. Finally giving up, he stepped out of the kitchen and headed back to his room to clear his head. Back there, he was flooded by the smell of carved wood and lotuses, yet all he could think of was Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian- and it hurt to think. Rubbing his temples, Jiang Wanyin closed his eyes, dropping back to bed. Slowly, he let sleep overwhelm him, ebbing away at his consciousness.
With Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian...
"Lan Er Gege, did you miss me?" Wei Ying asked teasingly, basking in his undivided attention. Still clutching onto his hand, he rubbed circles into it softly. Wangji melted into his touch. Touch that brought him warmth, even on the coldest of days.
"Mn, Lan Zhan missed Wei Ying." Hot blood rushed to the back of Lan Zhan's ears. Wei Wuxian noted this with amusement. It was like blushing, only Lan Zhan's version of it. He smirked, even though he could feel the heat rising at the back of his neck.
"Lan Er- Gege, I wasn't absent for that long," He pouted, pretending to be annoyed. Truthfully, he loved when Lan Zhan was protective and didn't mind it much. He didn't restrict him, in the end. And Lan Zhan's protectiveness was caused by worrying for him, and worrying meant he cared. Wei Ying would have it no other way, especially not with him.
"Long. Nine hours, thirty-one minutes and 51 seconds." The Lan replied seriously, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips. Wei Wuxian burst into fits of laughter. Seeing his lover chortling, Lan Wangji smiled smugly to himself, proud that he made him laugh.
"Lan Zhan, you're truly something," Wei Wuxian bent down, catching his breath and clutching his poor stomach, "But that's exactly why I love you."
Lan Zhan's ears perked up, and he flushed crimson. The words sent his heart fluttering, imbuing him with a warmth he didn't know was possible, at least not before Wei Ying.
"Ah, Lan Zhan, you spoil me too much." Wiping away a fake tear, he linked his hand with his dear Lan Zhan's. "Let's go explore Yunmeng!"
Grinning, he set off. Abandoning all proprietary, as usual, he dragged his poor lover along as he dashed through crowded and winding streets. Streets that were crammed to the brim with carts and vendors, as well as people. A perfect image of bustling life. Seeing the slight scrunching of the Jade's nose, Wei Wuxian pulled closer. "Ah, Lan Zhan. I'm sorry I forgot you didn't like crowds!"
He stepped closer and closer until they were mere inches apart. They stayed like this for a few moments. Unable to bear the silence, Wei Ying leaned forward, softly pecking his cheek. A few passersby throw them strange looks, barely believing their eyes. It wasn't every day you saw two highly skilled cultivators kissing, after all. Much less the prestigious Second Jade of Lan, and the Head Disciple of Yunmeng Jiang clan, with all the rumours that they hated each other flying around. Most of them are from Jiang Cheng, most likely. But neither noticed, standing in perfect oblivion to the world that surrounded them.
"Do you remember our promise?" The world came to a standstill around them, melting under their command. Nothing mattered more than the other than the former's glowing eyes, holding and hiding something that mere words could barely bring to life.
"Mnn." Gilt eyes glowed, overflowing with intangible desire. They held something hard to place a finger on, sending warm tingles in Wei Wuxian's stomach, and a fluttery feeling in his chest. "Of course I do."
Unbidden, the memory rose, unfolding like the creased blossoms before their eyes.
Stone surrounded then again, its dark and damp walls caving in, accompanied by the staccato beat of dripping water. Distantly, the sound of the monster breathing was muffled, pounding against the icy floor. Wei Wuxian could barely see five feet before him, a testament to how close he was to Lan Zhan since his stoic face danced at the periphery of his vision. Only, they were scrunched up in pain. If your eyes drifted down, you'd see him clutching onto his leg as if he were holding on to dear life, his hands clamped.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian's chin wobbled. Panic tinged in his voice, making it high-pitched and squeaky. The former threw him a glance before turning back to the burning pain in his leg. Anguish crossed his face. Silently, he wished to look up, to capture his face one more time. But this was a matter of life and death, and the biting pain in his leg didn't help.
With his squinted eyes and sweat blinding him, only a swish of robes alerted him to the presence of Wei Wuxian. Wordlessly, the other plodded down beside him. "Y-you'll get your robes dirty." Lan Zhan bit out, the pangs of pain running through him caused him to spasm, buckling in his throes.
Dusty? Half of their robes were already murky and muddy. There wasn't much of a difference between whether they were sitting or standing. Though Wei Ying was more concerned for his leg, he attempted to distract him with humour. "Lan Zhan, my robes are already dirty. It doesn't make much of a difference if I'm sitting or standing, and I'd rather sit down than stand and torture my legs."
"I-Improper." he gritted out, cringing at the pain, as well as his own words. For a moment, Wei Wuxian couldn't tell if he was the one meant to entertain him or the other way around. Instead, he rolled his eyes, settling down beside him. He really needs to sort out his priorities.
"What..are..you..doing?" Lan Wangji enunciated each word with excruciating clarity.
"Don't talk." For once, Wei WUxian's voice was serious. Deftly, he prised Lan Wangji's thin, paper-like fingers off his blood-stained robes, moving them up so he could see the wound clearly. Except the wound wasn't a wound, but a horrendous bite mark. Blood pooled out of it weakly. Bits and pieces of ancient and half-decayed food clung onto the gashes in his leg, oozing in pus. The areas that surrounded the serrated flesh looked ashen as if it were decaying from within. No wonder he looked so distressed.
No shit, Genius.
"Are you okay?" the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. Do I look okay to you? Unable to push the words past his lips, Lan Wangji settled for a glare. One that would have sent anyone except for Wei Wuxian running.
In any other situation, Wei Ying would have laughed. But unless getting bitten by an ancient man-made beast was normal, no chuckles could be heard. "Of course not," he muttered breathily, more to himself than to anyone else, "I should have guessed."
The other simply looked at him in disbelief. How could anyone have guessed this would happen? But the agony kept him in a maladaptive state, his vision blurring. It felt like he was slipping, fading away. If he didn't close up the wound soon...he was going to bleed out, if the infection didn't kill him first.
"Wei Ying..." he murmured weakly. Surprised, grey eyes pooled with lavender met liquid gold briefly before a quick flick of the wrist knocked the Second Jade of Lan out.
A/N:1435 words! Cliffhanger time! *Grins* This is fun! I'm kidding, but school just re-started and I'm too tired to write more- I'll see you guys in 2 weeks, thank you so much for the 12K reads, and for the comments, since they really make my day!
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