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At Lan Xichen’s insistence, Jiang Cheng finally bought a guqin.
‘It gets so boring waiting for you here. I don’t have Shoyue or Liebing with me, and you don't want me to draw pictures of you, so how else am I supposed to pass the time?’ Xichen had told him with a sour look. Jiang Cheng’s brow twitches in irritation at the memory.
So a few days later, after a few nights of relentless bodily persuasion, Jiang Cheng gave in to literally save his ass. Now the new instrument rests in his bedroom at Lotus Pier, adjacent to his writing table.
To thank him for the present, Xichen had started practicing on it while he worked. Sometimes, he even helped lull Jiang Cheng to sleep when he was too exhausted for...other nightly activities. The Discussion Conference in Yunmeng was growing closer, and the stress from preparations to host all of the major and many of the minor sects was starting to wear down the Sect Leader.
One evening, while the night was still young, Xichen offered to play a couple of songs from the Song of Clarity after Jiang Cheng had returned to his room after a bath, mumbling about his schedule for the upcoming week. He had come from finishing a hard day’s work and had planned on getting a head start on tomorrow's paperwork when Xichen had asked.
Jiang Cheng, whose spiritual music expertise was limited to his brother’s dizi and the haphazard notes Jin Ling played when he first tried out the guqin after seeing his Lan friends use it, had been skeptical of the song’s effects.
“What can music even do outside of night hunts? It’s not like it’ll help me complete my work,” he told Xichen with a dismissive frown. “Besides, without spiritual energy, it’s little more than entertainment. Aside from cultivation, playing an instrument is nothing more than a hobby to pass the time.”
Part of Jiang Cheng’s disregard for the musical arts may have to do with his seemingly inherent lack of skill regarding all things musical. Ever since he was young, he found he had no talent for instruments (or any object made for the sole purpose of creating lovely sounds, for that matter), but that’s not the point.
Xichen, “Don't be like that, A-Cheng. Let me show my gratitude.” Jiang Cheng tries not to redden upon hearing that term of endearment from this menace. “The Song of Clarity is a technique used by the Lan to calm the minds of those close to us. Music is much more than entertainment. This will help you relieve the stress you’ve been feeling from your recent responsibilities.”
Xichen looks down at the dark wood of the guqin before him almost lovingly, admiring the prettily carved body with lotus flowers neatly etched along the sides. He strums a chord experimentally and the notes echo beautifully. His long fingers run down the strings thoughtfully. “When played properly, it could even heal cultivators from qi deviation.”
Jiang Cheng feels a pang of guilt strike through him. Of course, he was aware of the details of Nie Mingjue‘s passing. But he hadn't understood how the music of a guqin had accelerated his death, how it had unwittingly driven him from sanity. He didn't truly understand the full story until much later. ( Annoyingly, it had been revealed to him by his stupidly smart brother, but he understands now, alright?! ) And even then, he had his doubts. Now that Xichen was comfortable enough to play the instrument again, the first thing he wanted to do was play a song that was tied deeply to his past sorrows? And for Jiang Cheng’s benefit?
He would truly be heartless if he didn’t at least give it a chance.
“Fine,” Jiang Cheng grits out, taking a seat across from Lan Xichen in front of the guqin. At Xichen’s brief look of surprise, Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, doing his best to hold back his scowl. “What are you waiting for? Play your music.”
Xicheng experimentally strums the strings again. “Very well.”
The first few notes make Jiang Cheng tense in anticipation. Subconsciously, he’s preparing himself, waiting for something to happen.
“Relax, Sect Leader Jiang,” Xichen says with a small laugh, hands still moving along the strings. The music seems to echo and surround him, gentle and beautiful. “Take a deep breath, and close your eyes,” Xichen instructs as the musical chords grow slightly more intricate. The song’s tempo still remains slow and peaceful. Jiang Cheng does as he says, eyelids fluttering shut as the sounds of the strings grow more pure and prominent. He can almost feel the spiritual energy in the air like a soft breeze, flowing from Xichen’s skilled fingers. His breathing slows and his mind goes blank and empty, only thinking of the music playing before him.
A short while later, “You can open your eyes now,” Xichen says, and Jiang Cheng does, a little surprised at how quickly the song had come to a close while he wasn't focused on it. Although he would rather die than admit it, he's silently shocked at how refreshed his mind feels and how calm his spiritual levels have become.
“That was Cleansing,” Xichen tells him with a smile. “It’s one of the most powerful within the Song of Clarity.”
Jiang Cheng tries not to stare at him in amazement. In all honesty, he didn’t think that the song would work that well. He had presumed the guqin to be a far more powerful weapon for its spiritual energy disabling or its ghoul inquiry purposes, not as a simple musical instrument for healing the mind. Xichen’s obvious mastery of the art piques his interest.
“How did you do that?” he demands not unkindly, but with a surprising amount of enthusiasm, even to himself.
Lan Xichen gestures for him to come closer, so Jiang Cheng obliges. As he attempts to kneel next to the empty spot by Xichen, though, he is tugged closer by an arm around his waist and nearly falls into the other man. After some quick adjustment, Jiang Cheng ends up sitting in Xichen’s lap. His back is pressed against Xichen's chest in front of the guqin.
He’s too close!!
Jiang Cheng can’t help shrink into himself, flustered at their sudden proximity. Although their bodies have been much closer a number of times before, he can still feel his face and neck heating up when the warmth from Xichen's broad chest seeps into the back of his thin bathrobe. Xichen seems unbothered by the way they're sitting and even goes as far as to murmur softly into Jiang Cheng's reddening ear.
“Here, let me show you.”
Jiang Cheng can only watch as Xichen takes one of his hands when he resumes his position to play. He patiently adjusts his fingers to the right chords before telling him to focus some of his spiritual energy into his fingertips before plucking the strings. Although the sounds he produces from the guqin aren't half as pretty as the ones Xichen had made, together, they clumsily make it through Cleansing again. The second the song ends, Jiang Cheng retracts his hands, flinching back as if the instrument had burned him. And with how warm his face is and how uneasy he feels, he knows he must not have played the song correctly.
Xichen laughs, deep and low. “No need to be so shy,” he tells Jiang Cheng with his lips right against his ear.
This bastard..! It’s not that he’s shy! He’s just...inexperienced is all...
Jiang Cheng huffs in lieu of a reply and hides his sensitive ear beneath his hand. He tries to lean away from Xichen when he sees his arms retract from the guqin as well, relaxing as they encircle him. Jiang Cheng tries to pry his arms from his waist as he is suddenly hugged around the middle.
“You shameless..! Let go of me!” He wrestles against Xichen’s grip to no avail. Damn the Lans and their damn arm strength!!
So he tries another tactic to get Xichen to release him.
Jiang Cheng, “That can’t be the only song you know how to play!”
“Oh? You want to hear me play more?” Jiang Cheng gives up on freeing himself and turns to see Xichen looking at him with a smirk, his dark amber eyes twinkling in unspoken victory. “I’m happy that Sect Leader Jiang enjoys my music so much.”
“Don’t get too cocky, you bastard! Play something else. You should know more than one or two songs, don’t you?”
Xichen pauses for a short moment before humming. "I think I know exactly what to play next.”
Xichen’s hold around him falls away, but he doesn’t let Jiang Cheng escape. He resumes his playing position right away. This time, his arms are on either side of Jiang Cheng to reach the guqin, boxing him in.
Xichen, “This song will be different from the last one, but it will have...similar effects. Let’s see if this one will be more to your liking.”
Jiang Cheng is trapped by the front with the guqin and by Xichen's body from behind. He sits between Xichen's arms, so Jiang Cheng has no choice but to sit back and listen. He grumpily leans against Xichen’s chest as he waits for the song to start.
The first few chords are innocent enough. They are played slightly faster than Cleansing without feeling hurried, and utilize more strings than before. His fingers soon move in complex patterns, and Jiang Cheng watches as the tune is indeed more intricate than the one before it. The melody drags on for a bit longer, unrushed but just as pretty. During a part where Xichen runs his hand along each of the guqin’s strings, a shiver runs down Jiang Cheng’s spine. The song speeds up a little, and he can feel his heartbeat speeding up with it, breath quickening with each strum of the guqin’s strings.
He relaxes his shoulders against Xichen’s chest. His body starts to feel flushed with a gradual warmth. Before long, heat floods his face, his neck, down his chest, and soon spreads to every part of his body as Xichen continues to play his song without pause. Jiang Cheng is no longer thinking about the music as he bites down lightly on his bottom lip to stop a groan from escaping his throat. The heat that has pooled down below has become almost unbearable. Out of embarrassment, Jiang Cheng grabs the bathrobe around his lower half, hiding the lump of his half-hard cock in the folds of his single layer of clothing. His heart is hammering in his chest as his body tingles from sudden arousal. Soon, Jiang Cheng writhes in Xichen’s lap, trying to muffle any noises that threaten to spill out by biting down on one of his knuckles. Each note that Xichen draws out makes his head feel fuzzier, and any coherent thoughts are lost amidst the low pretty tones of the music.
Before he knows it, he's hard.
When he leans harder against Xichen’s chest, Jiang Cheng can barely hold in his next moan when he hears Xichen plucking the next series of chords, one after another. His legs tremble so much he presses his knees together as heat surges through his body all at once. Jiang Cheng shakily opens his eyes (When had he closed them?) and finds his vision slightly shiny with tears threatening to spill. He can only watch with blurred vision as Xichen’s deft fingers move along the guqin’s wooden body, playing the chorus from earlier that had Jiang Cheng’s body squirming with mysterious heat. As he sees Xichen run his hands along another familiar series of notes, Jiang Cheng bites back another moan the instant the sound reaches his ears.
Finally, he realizes where the heat and the unbidden feelings of lust have been coming from. Xichen was doing this to him on purpose!!
Jiang Cheng doesn’t trust his voice, so he weakly tugs on Xichen’s long sleeve in an attempt to stop him from playing, hoping to dislodge his hands maybe. But Xichen continues the song unperturbed as pleasant sensation courses its way through Jiang Cheng, down his spine, and to his hips, filling him with an endless warmth that overtakes his senses. Every part of him feels hot. He sees Xichen’s smirk in the corner of his eye, but arousal overwhelms him before anger can. White-hot heat coils in his abdomen, ready to burst and send his heat-addled mind over the edge. Jiang Cheng’s wrist falls from the black sleeve limply, fingers twitching just as Xichen plays the climax of the song, and Jiang Cheng can feel energy crashing through him, overflowing from him, his body racked with tremors in Xichen’s arms as the tension within his abdomen finally finds its release. Jiang Cheng throws his head back and moans loudly, wantonly as he comes, spilling his seed without even touching himself as he stains the inside of his bathrobe.
As the song comes to an end, Jiang Cheng looks up to see Lan Xichen looking down at him, with that damned smirk on his smug lips. He pants harshly as he comes down from his high.
Xichen, “How was it?”
Jiang Cheng, still breathless from his orgasm, glares at him in response. Xichen gives the furrow of his brow a quick kiss before inspecting the rest of him with eyes filled with false worry.
“Sect Leader Jiang, you’re looking a little flushed! Are you feeling alright?"
And who’s fault is that, you horny bastard!
“Would you like some help cooling down?”
Xichen’s hand falls from the instrument to Jiang Cheng’s sash that holds his robe closed, undoing the tie there with startling speed. Jiang Cheng only has time to sit up as Xichen continues to undress him. He’s not wearing pants and his bathrobe has become uncomfortably damp from his release. When Xichen peels back and tugs off his soiled clothes from his shoulders, Jiang Cheng shudders as his body is exposed to the cool air of his bedroom.
Xichen, “Oh, you’ve made quite a mess of yourself. Your clothes are completely ruined! Someone should get you cleaned up right away…”
Jiang Cheng is immediately on high alert. Even though Xichen’s voice sounds concerned, the heavy-lidded look in his eyes is familiar to Jiang Cheng in the worst of ways. It’s a sure sign that he will wake up with a sore back and aching hips the next morning. Maybe for days after. That and the fact that Xichen’s honeyed voice has become rough with repressed lust isn’t helping his chances at surviving tonight unscathed.
Jiang Cheng, “Y-you perverted bastard..! You stupid sex demon!!”
Xichen’s hands linger on his hips and upper thighs, slowly drawing closer and closer to where he is currently most sensitive. Jiang Cheng grabs his wandering hands by his wrists before Xichen can touch any other part of his naked body. As he does this, he sits up and his completely opened robe falls to the ground, leaving his body bare as he turns to glare at Lan Xichen.
If only he hadn’t left Zidian by his bed!! Jiang Cheng can see the ring from where he sits but it’s out of his reach. He curses himself for his foolishness.
Jiang Cheng drops Xichen’s hands when he notices him blatantly checking him out, eyes darker than honey raking over his naked form salaciously. He tries his best to save whatever’s left of his dignity by snatching up and holding his discarded robes to his chest to cover himself, but it does little use. He turns to Xichen angrily, but a part of him had expected this, so his anger is more of a front for his hidden feelings of embarrassment and humiliation.
“You tricked me!!” he accuses.
“My deepest, most sincere apologies,” Xichen replies without sounding sorry at all. “It still helped you clear your mind, didn’t it?”
Jiang Cheng is at a loss for words. He hates that he can’t argue with that.
“T-there could’ve been other ways!” he protests anyway, scorning how he sounds like a maiden who’s been wronged. “And why do you know such an awful song??”
Xichen’s devilish smirk returns. “This song is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses for obvious reasons. The only reason I know it is because of my role as Sect Leader. I had to do a lot of research, you know. We need to know what powers our music possesses, even if we’re not allowed to use them.”
Damn it.
Jiang Cheng really hates how much sense he’s making.
Xichen, “This song, as opposed to forbidden sheet music, is different in that it is technically not banned from use. There have been records of cultivators playing it in the past. Our underground library in Gusu details some of the effects it has on the minds of its listeners…” His fingers move to smooth the strings on the instrument behind Jiang Cheng now.
Warm gold meets violet fire head-on as if challenging Jiang Cheng, silently asking if the explanation is satisfactory.
“It can be played to various ends,” Xichen finishes innocently.
Jiang Cheng scoffs derisively from between Xichen’s arms, wearing an expression of complete disbelief. “As if! You won’t trick me again! Such a shameless song could only be used for..! F-For…whatever you just did to me!”
He has to be lying! A song like this couldn’t possibly have any other purpose!
Lan Xichen hums, noncommittal as he leans in towards Jiang Cheng’s scandalized expression. “You know…” His eyes have a dangerous glint to them, but Jiang Cheng can’t back up any further, stopped by the guqin he himself had purchased.
(He really dug his own grave this time… )
Xichen, “One of the really interesting things about this song is that its effects compound.”
His fingers strum the strings once more, in those same few notes that began the song last time. Jiang Cheng whimpers as his body floods with heat. He turns away from Xichen in an attempt to hide his blushing face. He hates to admit it, but he’s already feeling warmer, much sooner than the first time he heard the song.
“If you play it many times in succession...”
He plays the same chord that made Jiang Cheng’s eyes flutter closed as his length began to swell. It has much of the same effect, only it happens quicker, feeling much stronger than before.
“...the mind will force the body to its peak over and over again.”
As his hands run along the guqin again, plucking each and every string down the instrument's body, his fingers feel like a gentle pressure stroking up and down Jiang Cheng’s sensitive spine. He arches his back, pressing his chest to Xichen’s as he moans at the feeling. He feels a familiar heat starting to build up within his stomach as Xichen continues running his deft fingers along the strings. His bare chest begs to be touched as his cock aches between his open legs. He only came moments ago, so how could be so desperate again already? His length twitches from overstimulation when it tries to grow hard.
Wait! N-no…! Mmnhh! Stop...it...
Jiang Cheng’s knees wobble and lose the strength to keep him upright. He falls forward, hands wrapping around Xichen’s neck as he gasps with each newly plucked chord. He can feel every note adding kindling to the flame of his arousal, building it up bit by slow bit in his gut. Completely undisturbed, Xichen keeps playing, stroking the strings with skilled fingers.
The music doesn’t stop.
In fact, it seems to go faster.
“It’s such an interesting song,” Xichen croons in his ear. Jiang Cheng can hear the smile on his lips, can hear his voice dripping with ill intent even though his own eyes are squeezed tightly shut. “The faster you play it, the faster one reaches their climax.”
Xichen ruthlessly runs his fingers along the strings, plays the song even faster. Jiang Cheng’s nerves are alight and it feels like they’re on fire as heat surges into his core, overwhelming his body once more. The tempo quickens with Jiang Cheng’s quickening pulse. His mind succumbs to the song rapturously, faster this time than the last. It feels so good, but it’s too much for him to handle so soon. His body can’t take it anymore. He clutches Xichen’s neck, moaning all the while.
“A-ah! L-Lan Huan..! S...slow down! Please! Mnnnh! Lan Huan, ah!”
Xichen reaches that same spot in the song from before, and just like last time, Jiang Cheng comes again. This time, his back is arched lewdly, arms wrapped tightly around Xichen’s neck. His legs are spread, straddling Xichen’s lap. He can feel his heart beating out of his chest as he hears himself cry out a single loud sob. He briefly whites out, his cock pulsing with his release. The immediate aftermath of his orgasm rips a guttural moan from his throat and leaves his body shaking as he coats his bare chest and Xichen’s dark robes in white, still twitching and coming in much weaker spurts.
Without giving him any time to recover, Lan Xichen starts the song again.
Jiang Cheng weakly clings to Xichen’s shoulders, fingers bunching up the fabric there. He pulls himself up, trying to meet his eyes. He shudders when he realizes what the other is doing to him and nearly collapses, his legs nearly completely giving out while the song’s barely even started. He has no choice but to beg for mercy as those recognizable notes from the song’s beginning are strummed again without hesitation.
“Ah! N-no, no more, please… ! Ahh! Lan Huan, nngh, I can’t...no more—“
His cries for reprieve soon become incoherent nonsense, turning into half-spoken words mixed with broken moans until they only become noises of insurmountable pleasure.
Jiang Cheng sees Xichen closing his eyes as he tilts his head to kiss him. Their lips meet as he clings weakly to Xichen’s broad shoulders. Xichen doesn’t stop playing the song as Jiang Cheng kisses him back desperately, never even pausing for a single second. His lips part for Xichen’s tongue, which sweeps along his bottom lip before seeking out the rest of his mouth. He whines into their kiss, trying to convey his need without words. The combination of the music and the lack of oxygen to his brain makes Jiang Cheng feel dizzy, head growing foggier and foggier as wave upon wave of pleasure clouds his thoughts. Once they break apart for air, Jiang Cheng keens as the music speeds up again. The arousal curling in his gut threatens to explode.
Ah— It’s happening again. H-He’s going to—
He’s momentarily distracted by Xichen planting another kiss against his lips, surprisingly gentle and soft compared to his merciless actions. Jiang Cheng leans his head to the side, baring his neck as Xichen nibbles along his jaw and down his throat. He sucks little kiss marks and leaves red indents from his teeth into the smooth skin there, marking him as Jiang Cheng moans helplessly.
A-ah, wait, please..! More...Just a little bit more—
Xichen leaves one final kiss against the hollow of Jiang Cheng’s throat. Xichen’s voice vibrates lightly against his neck, right next to his adam’s apple.
“I almost forgot to mention my favorite part of this song...”
Jiang Cheng makes a needy sound in the back of his throat just as he’s about to come—
“If you stop in the middle, just before the crescendo right here,” Xichen lays his hands flat against the guqin, pressing down on the strings to stop their vibrations.
Jiang Cheng cries out to deafening silence.
Xichen looks at Jiang Cheng, eyes twinkling at his expression which must be frozen in confusion. Wide steel-grey eyes meets dark amber ones gleaming with great satisfaction.
“You have to start the song again from the beginning,” he says smiling wide. “It’s so strange, isn’t it? You can’t continue the song where you left off. It simply doesn’t have the same effect.”
This fucking bastard..!
Jiang Cheng wasn’t able to come, and shivers from how sensitive he is. He was never given the chance. He was just about to be pushed over the edge— he only had just a little bit further —but had been stopped by some unknown force. He whines as he mindlessly reaches down below to touch himself, give his body just a little more to reach that peak again...
But Xichen snatches his wrists, holding them at his sides before he can get the chance to.
Jiang Cheng whimpers, leaning his entire weight against Lan Xichen’s body. His forehead rests on his shoulder where silent tears of frustration spill. He had been so close. His cock was still hard, its head still swollen red and leaking profusely, but he had fallen from the height of his arousal just before he could hit its peak.
Jiang Cheng feels a strong arm wrapping around his naked middle, continuing to pin his arms to his sides as his other hand lingers on his upper thigh. His length is pressed against Xichen’s front. But he has enough sense not to give him the satisfaction of rutting up against him. (He’s not desperate enough to debase himself that far.)
Xichen effortlessly lifts his hips and adjusts his legs so that they wrap around his waist. Every movement of his oversensitive body makes Jiang Cheng moan without meaning to, still impossibly hard. He hides his pout against the collar of Xichen’s robe while his naked bottom sits on clothed thighs. The terrible, awful man who is holding him captive continues to hug Jiang Cheng, caressing him sweetly while looking much too smug for his liking.
He seems to have stolen Xichen’s attention from the guqin, much to his chagrin. But then he immediately tries to banish that thought. He was trying to get him to stop playing in the first place! Why was he so upset? Xichen’s no longer focused on playing the instrument, only continuing to hold Jiang Cheng against him. He should be thankful he’s been saved from this cursed music!
Xichen presses a chaste kiss to his forehead and hums contemplatively, “Would you like me to keep playing, A-Cheng?”
How dare he ask that!
If Jiang Cheng was any less frustrated and more infuriated, he would smack him right this second! But his arms are pinned, and he’s so, so hard. He wants to come right now, but he’s at Xichen’s mercy.
And listening to that song made him feel really good…
His mind had gone numb and the music affected his body in ways it had never felt before. The feeling was new and strangely addicting. There was no denying how much he had enjoyed the stimulating notes of that horrible song.
Jiang Cheng nods silently into Xichen’s shoulder, internally cursing him for all eternity for leaving him in such a state, making his body wanting more.
And Xichen has the damn audacity to laugh at him!
So Jiang Cheng shuts him up by sealing his lips with a kiss as Xichen’s fingers return to the strings behind his back.
——
That night, Jiang Cheng learns just how fearsome a weapon the guqin truly is.