Note: [Text] = Thoughts-one-has | [Text]= Thoughts-one-has-but-doesn't-want-to-acknowledge-it
Warnings: the usual depressive and suicidal thoughts, angst (because we can't live without it), bouts of misplaced and rightful anger and miscommunication. If any of these triggers you, please don't read.
Author's Notes: This is not a bashing fic but rather a fic that points out the "unhealthy" parts of the thought process and works to improve it. [So stay tune for a wild ride with Lan Qiren~]
"Uncle said what?" Lan Xichen asks incredulously. Surely, his uncle would not break one of their own sect rules.
"..."
"This is bad. Doesn't he realizes that people are saying—"
"Do not engage in idle talk."
"Of course Wangji. I was merely passing by and happened to be involved with someone who enjoyed talking about it," Lan Xichen immediately soothes. "What I was told was that Sect Leader Jiang and his wife have announced both Wei brothers as their children and would not tolerate anything against them."
Lan Wangji did not look impressed.
Lan Xichen didn't know what he had done in his past life to deserve this. Forget settling things, just getting his uncle to agree to apologize was taxing. Why was his uncle so against apologizing? Clearly, he was in the wrong. Wangji would, after all, never let his personal feelings interfere when reporting back.
He could understand his uncle's apprehension of Wei MingYu being a demonic cultivator, but the other had done nothing yet. If anything, he avoided trouble like a plague.
So why refuse to apologize to the demonic cultivator? Besides, it was their rule to apologize if they were in the wrong, so why was his uncle stubborn? [He didn't know what to feel as he saw his uncle disregard their sect rules?]
The apology could have worse, is all Lan Xichen would say with a strained smile. He was just glad to be out of that tense atmosphere. His uncle glaring did not help.
[Another rule broken .]
"Haha, it's a good thing Old—I mean, Teacher Lan apologized to MingYu-ge, right Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying says brightly before he tacks on. "Before Uncle Jiang and Auntie Yu had to interfere."
"..."
"MingYu-ge was surprised to, you know. And it's not very easy to surprise him."
Lan Wangji did not ask to be told somebody else's life story. But he didn't deny that he was interested in the famous oldest Wei brother. Besides, there was just something with the way Wei Ying talked. It kept him intrigued.
"It seems that the only thing capable of getting a reaction out of him is kindness..."
"...?"
"MingYu-ge went through a lot," the YunmengJiang disciple answers the unspoken question. "He hasn't told us everything, but from what we've observed and heard, it was anything but easy."
"..."
"You know, he doesn't have a golden core, right Lan Zhan?"
No, Wangji did not actually know of this. Was it really fine for Wei Ying to be telling him all this? It must be, otherwise why would he say anything to a person he met just a few days ago?
"It's not because he doesn't have it, but rather he doesn't have it anymore. He lost it and Auntie Yu believes it's because of that Wen ZhuLiu," Wei Ying spat out the name hatefully.
It was the first time Wei Ying ever showed an emotion other than happiness. He was alarmed.
"I was very surprised, Lan Zhan. It was a shock to know that I—"
Wangji pursed his lips at the uncharacteristic cut-off. He had never seen Wei Ying look like that frustrated. He was captivated. The boy had always been laid-back, never once showing anything but happiness.
"Did you know that MingYu-ge would be act exactly like me if he hadn't gone through what he did?"
"Preposterous."
Wei Ying laughed at the instant denial, understanding the reason too well. He would have denied it too, had he not seen it for himself. [But he never pushed his future self for information, not because he didn't want to hurt him but because he was afraid. There were only a few things that could break him like that. And he didn't want to confront it yet.]
"But it's true! He is me, after all!"
"Wei Ying..."
But the head disciple did not seem to notice the confused look, lost in his own musings.
"It's a good thing that Uncle Jiang and Auntie Yu cares about us. If Teacher Lan hadn't had apologized and punished him instead, then it would have been bad. Like really bad. They really care about MingYu-ge after all."
Wei Ying chuckled recalling the extreme concentration the Jiangs had when they watched both MingYu and him. It seems that seeing MingYu-ge acting like that had them fear for Wei Ying's future. Now Wei Ying couldn't go anywhere without Jiang Cheng interrogating him.
Even Auntie Yu was watching him carefully!
"Not sad?"
Startled, Wei Ying turned to Lan Zhan.
"Sad? Why would I be sad?"
Lan Zhan just stared, "They like your brother more...?"
At that, Wei Ying boisterously laughed. The sound reverberating in the Library walls. Lan Wangji couldn't find it within himself to scold the other, even though he was laughing at his expense. He was beautiful.
"I'm not jealous, Lan Zhan! I'm actually very very happy!" Because liking my brother is the same as liking me! We are the same people after all... even if I'm reluctant to admit it.
And he wasn't even lying.
Auntie Yu had called him family. Had accepted him. Not only that, they cared enough to not let the same mistake occur again. They wanted to protect him.
That said a lot more than anything else could.
"Uncle Jiang always accepted me, but always fought with Auntie Yu. Now Auntie Yu has accepted me and cares for me. I am really, really happy. I get a family again. They don't want to repeat the same mistakes. They don't want me to become him."
Furrowing his eyebrows, Lan Wangji asks, "Why do you speak as though you and your brother are the same people?"
A silence and then Wei Ying bursts out laughing.
"You really are smart, Lan Zhan!"
Unbeknownst to everyone, pink dusted Wangji's face despite his confusion. [He really doesn't wants Wei Ying to become Wei MingYu. Wei Ying looked the best smiling.]
"Young Master Wei lost his golden core?!"
Lan Xichen really wanted to screech. For once, he desperately wanted to ignore their rule of always remaining calm. [Huh, the Wei brothers were impressive, to have driven him to the point of actively wanting to break his own sect rules.]
There were just too many surprises and it had only been a week since the disciples came to Cloud Recesses. There shouldn't be so many surprises!
"Mn. Wei Ying said so."
Pinching his brows, Lan Xichen exhaled. Wangji related to his brother very much. The Wei brothers really weren't good for their hearts, both of them thought.
Just one of them had a very different reason than the other.
Despite the apology, Wei MingYu does not comes to classes. Lan Qiren twitches. The Jiangs siblings smile. Lan Zhan stares [at Wei Ying.] Lan Xichen suffers.
No-one says anything.
"Young Master Wei?"
Said person opened his slowly, his hands automatically going towards his flute. It was a reflex by now. Never knowing just when you could be stabbed in the back. [Just like at Qiongqi Path when Jin Zixun accused him with 300 archers. 300 against 1.]
"We cleaned the entire area out a long time ago, waiting for you to come...This is the burial ground that we've prepared just for you!"
Wei MingYu did not like people sneaking up on him. Not anymore. [He could still remember the fear of 300 arrows pointed towards him. Could still remember the betrayal he felt when he was ambushed. Could still remember how he lost control and when shijie's husband interfered and died. He hated being snuck on. Always will.]
"Will you be joining classes soon?"
"No."
"...May I ask why?"
"Because I don't like Teacher Lan Qiren."
Lan Xichen choked. That was too honest!
"Wangji."
"En."
"You're close with Second Master Wei, correct?"
"...No."
"Please ask him to ask his brother to come to classes? I'm afraid Uncle would soon erupt from anger. And we do not want that happening again," Lan Xichen smiled kindly as though ignoring Wangji's plight.
Lan Wangji wondered why he was weak to those who smiled excessively. [At least he get's an excuse to talk to Wei Ying.]
The matter was soon resolved, though not in the way the First Jade of Lan was hoping.
Instead of convincing his brother to join classes, Second Master Wei somehow managed to convince him to join their healers. How that happened, Lan Xichen doesn't knows. The Wei brothers were confusing like that. At least their healers appreciate the help? [He feared for his uncle. He was twitching a lot these days.]
The bright side to this was that he could have insightful conversions with the brothers. Who knew both of them had an interest in medicine. Especially the older one. [Even if it felt personal. He wondered who Young Master Wei was thinking about as he talked about healing arts. He had a rather wistful expression.]
His uncle was not happy.
Lan Qiren's complaint letters of the Wei brothers were returned back with a simple, 'It's best to let them do what they want, lest they do something worse.'
...A very calming letter, indeed.
The Twin Jades wisely stayed away from their fuming uncle. [It was the first time they saw uncle breaking the rules.]
Just like that, 3 months pass by with no heart pounding situations occurring. He had also gotten closer to the Wei brothers enough to call them by their names. Their conversations happening more frequently these days. [Sometimes he would forget that he was even speaking to a demonic cultivator... who didn't even look evil, much less had any ideas.]
And just when Lan Xichen was thinking things would settle down now, fate had to prove them otherwise. He prayed to his ancestors for patience.
Just why did everything revolve around the two Wei brothers?
At least his brother seemed to be happy. Too happy, in Lan Xichen's humble opinion. Understandable, since he got the chance to interact with the younger Wei after this mess of a situation.
He truly was happy Wangji was finally making friends, but if only Wei Wuxian could encounter less troublesome situation then it would have been better. Something tells him that he would have to get used to it.
"MingYu-ge!"
Said person turned towards the relieved call, coming face to an anxious Jiang Cheng, a soaked Wei Ying who was being supported by a stoic Lan Wangji, a disgruntled Jin Zixuan, a frantic Nie Huaisang and a worried (who was also bordering on being just done with the situation) Lan Xichen.
[One of the reasons why he had stopped coming to classes was because of Jin Zixuan. He couldn't face the boy he had inadvertently killed with his loss of control. He didn't want to.]
He'd been waiting for a while now. Stygian and Amulet informing him that something had gone wrong with the latest mission that the two Yunmeng disciples forced themselves in.
Hadn't they gone to deal with the ghouls and Waterborne Abyss? What could have gone wrong? Wei MingYu tilted his head to observe.
"You could have warned us!" was Wei Ying's first words to him, but he didn't pay attention to that, even as he stared at his younger brother. His heart prickling with unease...this feeling felt familiar... but it wasn't possible. [It was too early.]
"Wuxian, be reasonable. How would have MingYu warned us? He wouldn't have known of the presence of the Waterborne Abyss," Lan Xichen soothes the teen immediately, who would have protested had it not been for Jiang Cheng elbowing him.
They were under strict orders by Madam Yu to keep quiet. Not a word about time travelling could be said during their stay at Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian had the most difficulty keeping mouth shut.
"..." Wei Ying mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath.
"MingYu, weren't you to be with Healer Peizhi? Did something happen?"
"Stygian and Amulet told me you were on your way back."
"...Stygian and Amulet?"
Silently, he gestures vaguely to his sides, not paying attention to the surprised gasps at the appearance of the twin ghosts who were attached to him like koalas. They really were clingy.
"Ghosts?! Shouldn't the barrier have stopped them?!"
But Wei MingYu didn't pay attention to that exclamation. He paid attention to Wei Ying, who was, by this point, worried.
"MingYu-ge?"
"...You came in contact with resentful energy?" he asks, a frown adorning his face.
Everyone froze.
"Wei Wuxian!" Jiang Cheng was the first to recover. "You promised you wouldn't!"
"I didn't!" Wei Ying promptly defends himself. "I swear I didn't! How could I anyway?!"
"Then why—"
"Was A-Ying in the midst of the Waterborne Abyss?" MingYu interrupts, taking Wei Ying's wrist in his hand.
If someone had been in the midst of the resentful energy or even close to the core of the creature where most of the resentful energy condensed, then it wouldn't be odd for the dark energy to seep into the Qi paths unknowingly.
Even the best of the cultivators would have difficulty picking up on it.
He could vaguely recall being pulled in the water in his timeline, but he knew he didn't come into contact with it then. [Or did he? His memory has never been the best. In fact, it worsened with the Siege and everything.]
"En. Pulled him out," Wangji [because he wasn't Lan Zhan. Not his Lan Zhan] confirmed.
Wei MingYu sighs, before he uses his resentful energy to track the untamed strand.
"It's not much," he assures quietly as he removes it, the black mob of energy disappearing within himself, tamed. "But his Qi paths would be tender for a while. A day or two rest would suffice as long as he listens to Cleansing."
Wei MingYu doesn't understand the silence that followed his words. The twin ghosts giggled eerily even as they disappeared from sight. [Never from Wei MingYu's though. He could always see them. He wanted to see them, the only reminder left of his world.]
"Wuxian."
"Yes, Xichen-ge?"
"Your brother does not seems to realize the amount of power he wields, does he?"
"He doesn't," Jiang Cheng bluntly answers.
The First Jade of Lan shouldn't have been surprised.
"Holy shit, that was awesome!" Nie Huaisang bursts out after the Lans reluctantly left to inform their uncle, MingYu long since gone. "You must introduce me to your brother!"
Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng look at him weirdly.
"We already have though?"
"No no no! I mean, like actually meet! I want to talk to him and ask him how he does it!"
"Does what?"
"Silencing the Lans even though he doesn't uses the Silence Spell! I've never seem them without words. Like ever!"
Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying could only laugh awkwardly. Was that a good thing or a bad thing, they couldn't tell.
[But they couldn't help but be amused slightly. Yes, leaving the Lans dumbstruck was hilarious. Even more so, when they struggled to keep their expressions in control. MingYu-ge was amazing at getting those stuffy Lans to keep breaking their rules!]
"My brother doesn't like to interact," Wei Ying says after Huaisang continued to pester him. "So it won't be easy. He only interacts with a select few." Even then, he keeps them in sight. It hurts to think about what I would go through in the future that would change me to that.
"Oh..." Nie Huaisang frowns before he opens his fan. "..Wait why?"
Wei Ying looks away. Jiang Cheng grimaces. No Jiang liked to wonder why. It was an unspoken rule.
"Your brother is messed up," Jin Zixuan, who had been silently listening to them, bluntly said. He also had stared in awe at the almost absentminded way Wei MingYu demonstrated his powers.
Cloud Recesses had a barrier that prevented any ghosts to enter and yet, somehow the two ghosts that kept clinging to Wei MingYu were in Cloud Recesses? By the non-existent reaction of the Jiang heir and the head disciple [why wasn't Wei MingYu the head disciple?], the twins had probably been there for a while.
The barrier was not broken, that's for sure. Or else the Lans would have been panicking.
Which meant only one thing: The twins were strong enough to enter, which was a frightening thought. But the way those twins only showed themselves at Wei MingYu's behest...
Not to mention, the way the 22 year old picked up on the resentful energy within his younger brother. None of them did, even though they checked.
The man had power and he wasn't afraid to show it. [It was a warning to them all to remind them that they didn't know the extent of his powers and not knowing was scary.]
"You're saying that twin ghosts appeared in Cloud Recesses only after Wei MingYu silently asked them to?" Lan Qiren asked, wide-eyed, momentarily pausing in stroking his goatee.
His nephews nodded to that ridiculous news.
"How is that possible?" he asks murmuring to himself. "Just how much power does he have? He really is dangerous..."
"Uncle... it might be best to not antagonize Wei MingYu..."
Lan Qiren twitched. He should not be feeling afraid of a demonic cultivator and yet he was.
"Besides, MingYu doesn't means any harm," Xichen says softly. "He's a good friend, though a bit broken."
He spluttered in shock, "He's a demonic cultivator!"
"Wei Ying's brother is kind," Wangji says. "Not evil."
Lan Qiren spluttered in shock. Why were his nephews speaking against him?! And just because of that demonic cultivator!? Just what kind of curse had he placed on his beloved nephews?!
Author's Note: Okay, so LX is now noticing some weird stuff happening in his sect. More specifically, the way LQ seemingly has a grudge against the demonic cultivator. Luckily, or unluckily, with MingYu speaking up, the anger from Wei Ying has been turned to him. [Not that it affects future WWX or anything, but, he'll be annoyed. Like super annoyed.] LX has also come to like MingYu and some self-reflection will start now. [Especially after WWX demonstrated a part of his powers.]
Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan has now understood that leaving the Wei brothers to themselves would be a better idea, lest they create a much more chaotic situation. It's kind of like 'let them run their steam out rather than controlling it.'
Stygian and Amulet will pop up many times over the fic. I love them too much now. I like the idea of Stygian Tiger Amulet to like WWX. He is the grandmaster of the demonic cultivation. These are the two Pinterest pics that made me include them in this fic!
And yes, Lan Zhan is interested in younger Wei Ying. MingYu avoids him like a plague [ just like he does with Jin Zixuan. Just because he's controlled himself, doesn't means he wish to continually see them, especially when they are younger
Next chapter: the Jiangs are coming, some explanation of WY and WMY's creations, and a storm is beginning to brew~ Feel free to ask me on Tumblr @finoalcielo for anything to wish to~
p.s. YilingPatriarch!WWX is bamf and no-one can convince me otherwise. Just wished the novel/donghua delved deeper into it.