Chapter Text
“How about this Lan Zhan, I promise you that you're the person I'm going to marry in the future!” Wei Wuxian grinned ear to ear, stuck close beside Lan Wangji like the leech he is. What a way to confess your undying love, right? It's fine, it's not like Lan Wangji is going to take him seriously. Hell, Wei Wuxian doesn't even know what prompted him to say that- perhaps it was due to the deafening silence- or the suffocating awkwardness- or perhaps it was due to how breathtaking Lan Wangji looked that moment.
Lan Wangji maintained perfectly poised. Occasionally he would falter, something shifts in his demeanor- a subtle change, yet Wei Wuxian can see it. Lan Wangji would stare at his neat calligraphy, proud, accomplished through his work. Lan Wangji would systematically inhale for about 1.5 seconds and exhale for 2- it's not like Wei Wuxian was keeping track, that would be creepy. “Wei Ying!” Lan Wangji had cautiously whisper-shouted at him, snapping him out of trance.
He watches as Lan Wangji stiffly looked around the library pavilion, eyes widening for a fraction of a second, before returning to his normal stoic (emotionally constipated) look. 'Cautious much, huh? He hates the idea of being with me to that extent- I guess I was a bit insensitive for that part- assuming things.' Wei Wuxian cringes at himself, tossing that thought aside for now as he walks closer to Lan Wangji.
“Aiyah! Don't be so tense! Nothing bad is going to happen Lan Zhan—" Wei Wuxian paused to think, his hands reaching his chin as he puts up a front, as if he hadn't already thought about it. "—although I won't stop you if you ever do fall in love with someone else and choose to be betrothed to them, no hard feelings! I will, however, get mad at you if you don't invite me to your wedding!” Wei Wuxian crossed his arms, his smile reaching up to his ear, closed eyes, and, perhaps, genuine; not like Lan Zhan would pick up the signs.
Lan Wangji 'hmph'-ed, brows: furrowed, face: red, from anger. “Ridiculous.” Lan Wangji had already turned his back and started walking away from him by the time he finished his theory on how he made the hanguang-jun mad. wei wuxian finds it funny; he practically proposed, minus the ring, with his genuine feeling and at the cost of, what? the love of his life was walking away from him- fuming, nevertheless.
he doesn't have time to think before he impulsively yelled his name, “LAN ZHAN!” lan wangji turned his head out of reflex, facing wei wuxian who had a smile so wide and bright, brighter than the sun could ever shine. “hanguang-jun, 我爱你 !” wǒ ài nǐ, i love you- he says (desperate) cheerfully, his smile unwavering.
a book flew out the window of the library pavilion, following a deafening boastful cackle from, most likely, wei wuxian, “SHAMELESS.” lan zhan turned around, hurrying to leave as he exited the pavilion with an unreadable strained face, hands clutching bichen tightly, until his knuckles turned white. maybe, what he truly wished to say earlier was 對不起, duì bù qǐ, i'm sorry, however, he couldn't bring himself to say that out loud, not when lan wangji showed much urgency to get away from him. wei wuxian, what the hell. why couldn't he take the hint for crying out loud that man had no interest in him- HELL that man hates him to the core. (if this was a hanahaki au he would've been huffing, puffing, and vomiting by now, but that's reserved for a future fic- author stfu, let him cook!!!)
the world actively refrained from making promises, they couldn't keep. odd, but smart, especially when even the tiniest slip-up could cause an entire stigma. the cursed ones, those unruly ones, those unfaithful ones, those monsters — or so society would say, haha... funny, wei wuxian thinks to himself, those hypocrites. the world was a mess- maybe that's an understatement. they condemned those with such stigmas yet had the audacity to lie straight through their teeth because none had the courage to swore through the oath, they are aware of their hypocrisy and did nothing about it, vicious animals with tails in between their legs, those assholes.
wei wuxian sighed, leaning against the wall as he unconsciously fidgeted with the scar across his arm, ears perking up as he heard the gossips amongst the townsfolk.
“not only was he evil, the yiling laozu seems to be an unfaithful person! i heard he had a huge ugly scar across his face, a scar he earned after breaking a promise!”
“not only that, i heard he had multiple hidden within his robes!”
“i wonder what kind of promise did he break in order to earn a huge scar like that! on the face nonetheless!”
lan wangji did not regret any of his actions except for the fact that he did not stand on wei wuxian's side on that day, he hated the fact that he hesitated to take his wei ying's side.
having to have heard of the news of wei ying dying at the burial mounds reached lan wangji's ears, he was devastated. he lost every ounce of colour on his face, he was grieved.
adding on, lan wangji had to take punishment for defending wei wuxian, and he received it with no complaints, still not going back on his words. they were ruthless, the clan elders did not give mercy. lan xichen worried for him.
it was pure torture for lan wangji—his significant other pronounced dead, wei ying's remainings not yet found.
punishment, whips and seclusion. lan wangji was unable to go out and check for himself, to try and find every bits of wei ying that he had left, he despised it.
minimum of thirty discipline whip. it was what lan wangji had received as punishment, he was beaten until he bled. kneeling firmly in the snow, hands clenched tight.
one strike of the discipline whip surely was enough for the bearer to remember it for a lifetime, not to mention how long it takes to recover from one—imagine how unbearable it is to receive thirty when one whip was fatal enough.
lan xichen closed his eyes, leaving the scene for he could no longer bare to see his brother suffer. lan xichen hated how stubborn lan wangji was, he wished that wangji could have at least been more selfish to care and stand up for himself.
¡ !
. . . “HANGGUANG-JUN!” shouts coming from the disciples echoed in the normally hushed cloud recesses, the disciples unable to conceal their panic.
lan xichen hurriedly came to see the situation, anxiously investigating out what has happened and what caused them to ignore the lan principles. not long after, he eventually figured it out;
lan xichen's heart dropped, there in the crowd of lan disciples, on the cold floor, layed the familiar figure, unmoving, almost lifeless.
in an ungraceful manner, lan wangji was laying down; blood pooling from his back, skin as pale as snow, lips chapped and dry. . . eyes barely open as if he's holding on by a thread.
“WANGJI!” lan xichen shouted, he didn't care, he ignored the four thousand principles of the lan clan, lan xichen ran towards lan wangji pushing through the sea of disciples, cradling wangji gently in his arms.
“WANGJI PLEASE, STAY WITH ME.” lan xichen pleaded, voice shaking. lan wangji only gave his brother a hum and a nod. his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
“wei ying. 抱歉 . . .” lan wangji whispered, he was exhausted, he wanted to rest. all he wanted and ever thought of as of now was wanting to be with his wei ying again, to be reunited once again. lan wangji was desperate.
‘i hope to see you again, wei ying.’
lan wangji closed his eyes, succumbing to darkness, losing consciousness painfully slow as he finally let himself relax.
. . .
“wangji? wanGJI?? WANGJI?!” lan xichen cried out, shaking his brother's lifeless body. he was overwhelmed, his mind was refusing to process the information.
lan xichen cried his eyes out, holding his brother so close to him, his white uniform ruined, stained with blood. countless regrets came to him, had he protected and defended him, could he have not gotten into this state?
everyone gave them space, some left to inform lan qiren of what has occurred. they were so nonchalant about it, something inside him boiled in anger
silence, once again, filled the cloud recesses. it was already dark, ominous even. the sun has set long ago, it was already around *hai time.
“oh, zewu-jun! i thought everyone had left the vicinity. . . — ?” wei wuxian's voice grew quieter, his movements halted. lan xichen did not spare him a glance, wei wuxian knew something was amiss.
a rusty scent rubbed onto him, no doubt—it was the smell of blood. wei wuxian's mind went blank, his breathing quickened in pace as he was welcomed by the sight of the messy and bloodied twin jades of lans.
it was the least thing he could expect, his mind went haywires, spinning uncontrollably. they crossed the line—no, they've completely outdone it.
he felt an all familiar; immense amount of pain immediately strike through his face. hesitantly, he touched the part of his face that was in pain and there he was met, a large scar across his face. . . it was the curse of the broken promise.
undoubtedly distinct, it did not bleed an ounce yet it left a scar. he was familiar with it, he in fact was guilty of breaking promises. he had a few on his nape and neck, crawling through his back from when he had promised jiang cheng.
but this one was different, it was across the face, showing how significantly important the broken oath was.
originally, wei ying had come to visit lan zhan, he just got out of the burial mounds a few days ago, surprisingly alive and breathing. wei wuxian wanted fresh air, he wanted a fine rest and be with his beloved.
who knew that instead of seeing the usual uptight and rigid person that he loved, welcoming him with a glare, he was instead was welcomed by lan zhan's lifeless body on the floor along with his weeping brother.
it was horrid. he wanted to puke, take revenge, he wanted to scream and bring hellfire upon everyone. if only, IF ONLY—he could. honestly, what's stopping him?
he's the fearful yiling patriarch, who else could stop him? he had already defected, no worries of embarrassing someone or causing a war between clans. he was free to do anything.
well, why not let him live up to the bad reputation they built for him? he'd only be fulfilling the rumors that they had spread, where's the malice in that?
“zewu-jun, with all due respect, i truly hope that you and i won't face against in the near future, or hope that you won't try and halt my plans. it would truly be a waste.”
he didn't wait for an answer, he left in silence. he was not qualified enough to mourn for lan wangji, and he will continue to lose right to weep for him, the night of the sunshot campaign.
the nightless city, it was nothing but ominous. oh but dear god—their reaction was absolutely PRICELESS. the fear and terror on their faces, it was hilarious.
the sunshot campaign? it was utterly useless. wei wuxian utterly reigned the battlefield, overpowering everyone. his resentful energy stronger and feistier than before.
blinded with rage, wei wuxian was in full rampage. it was a bloody massacre, he was brutal to the point that no clans escaped his wrath, except—except the lan clan.
why? oh wouldn't you like to know. a simple extermination of the lan clan doesn't sit right with wei wuxian. their screams, desperate pleads—it was so pleasant.
“sure, go on. beg for mercy you refused to give.” wei wuxian was petty, he could care less about what they're spewing. mercy? who are they trying to kid? why don't they beg for forgiveness instead.
“WEI-SHIXIONG!” someone yelled in the midst of chaos. “wei-shixiong please! this isn't what wangji would have wanted!” it was lan xichen, he tried to appeal.
it was all futile. “of course he wouldn't want this- why would he? lan zhan is too righteous.” wei wuxian paused, twirling 陈情—cheng qing on his hands.
halting as he neared lan xichen. “but zewu-jun, did you forget? i'm the evil yiling laozu, the defector from the jiang clan, the one who betrayed everyone. it's me, the villain you all wanted.”
lan xichen couldn't utter anymore words, because wei wuxian's words was right. everyone turned their backs on him with no hesitation, and they did nothing against it.
“well? you wanted a villain? I GAVE YOU A VILLAIN.” wei wuxian shouted in anger. he ordered his puppets around, injuring and restricting their moves.
. . .
“zewu-jun. please move while i'm asking you nicely.” lan xichen did not move an inch, staring directly at wei wuxian's eyes. “FOR THE LOVE OF— ZEWU-JUN PLEASE MOVE.”
lan xichen was stubborn, insisting on blocking his way. wei wuxian sighed in desperation.
“i told you to move, didn't i?” wei wuxian gritted, holding lan xichen's limp body. “oh no- don't look at me like that. i warned you and you didn't listen. you only have yourself to blame.” with that, wei wuxian released him, letting him go with a thud.
“truly a pity. did you really think i wouldn't dare harm you because you're lan zhan's brother? how idiotic.” wei wuxian walked away, coming to deliver the punishment he prepared for the lans.
a whip, for a whip. see who could survive the longest, and see if the punishment lan zhan received was reasonable. wouldn't it be fair enough?
“i hope you thoroughly enjoy the present i prepared.” with that he disappeared into the night, heading towards the place where everything started.
cloud recesses.
he wondered around, aimlessly, reminiscing the past, the one he can no longer mend. wei wuxian was foolish. no matter how hard he tries, he could no longer bring back the man in his memories.
“how dare i mourn, i do not deserve to stand before you; but if i may be thick-faced enough, i'd thoroughly learn the inquiry for you. refuse the inquiry, it would be fine. i deserve to rot in the depths of hell.”
wei wuxian looked up, admiring the moon. “and so i shall carry the burden i caused once more. to hold myself accountable, i shall live and await for whatever punishment that comes to me.”
. . .
wei wuxian caressed lan wangji's guqin, ‘no matter how many victors i win, you'll still remain the same.’
water droplets came running down wei wuxian's face as he sat on the roof of the cloud recesses, drinking liquor carelessly. having no one to stop and nag at him any longer.
he was alone again.