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“So who else knows?” Wei Wuxian asked from his and his husband’s bed, his robe doing a poor job of keeping him modest.
Lan Wangji smirked as he retrieved the wash basin he had set out earlier knowing where the evening would take them. His husband waited patiently with far more bruises sucked into his collar bones than he had earlier in the night.
“Wait, no!” His husband said, “I want to guess!”
<<<>>>
It wasn’t Sizhui’s first night hunt, but it was close enough to it Lan Wangji felt the need to accompany the group of young disciples. If his son had any hesitations about it he didn’t show it. The rest of the group mostly seemed entranced by the shining beacon of Hanguang-jun joining their hunt to think the true reason for his presence was a worried parent hovering over their child. When it came to it, though, he was glad he went.
They had traveled to small village half a day’s flight from Caiyi where they had received word of a resentful creature terrorizing farmers; Crops were being destroyed and with the end of growing season rapidly approaching the locals were worried about how they would make it through the winter if their yield shrank any further.
The moment they stepped into the village it was apparent the young juniors were in over their head without their senior there to take the lead. Already they could tell several fields had been destroyed by something big, very big. The juniors couldn’t control their initial reactions; even Sizhui wore a look of shock before he schooled his expression into something more controlled.
After some investigating, allowing the juniors to take the lead on that so they wouldn’t feel entirely useless, it was discovered they were dealing with a yaoguai. Apparently some poachers had passed through and had forgotten one of their traps, shortly after a farmer’s plow ox had gotten out and was never found. The farmer had spent a week looking for it, but his knees could only take him so far as the nights got cooler and the days took longer to warm.
“Fa Xiu, Lan Jingyi,” Lan Wangji said, “Send word to Xichen, Gusu will ensure this village will have enough.”
Fa Xiu was older than Jingyi and was responsible. She knew when to be serious and was efficient, sometimes to the point of ruthlessness. Together the two disciples would reach Cloud Recesses quickly.
“Yes, Hanguang-jun,”Fa Xiu bowed before her sword flew out of its scabbard.
“Aww,” Lan Jingyi groaned before he covered his mouth,
“Jingyi,” Sizhui scolded in a hushed voice.
Before Lan Wangji could say anything another disciple stepped forward, a girl the same age as Sizhui.
“Hanguang-jun, I could go instead,” she offered, “I am just as fast as Jingyi, faster even.”
Meng Feiyan was her name. She was soft spoken and a little shy at times, at least what Lan Wangji had seen of her. He admired her courage to speak up.
“Mn,” Lan Wangji agreed, “Go quickly and stay together.”
Meng Feiyan bounced over to Fa Xiu who gave her an excited smile. Together they mounted their swords and flew towards Gusu.
“Thank you,” Jingyi bowed low, “Hanguang-jun.”
Lan Wangji only nodded in return.
As the sun sank lower into the sky Lan Wangji had his disciples put up talismans to help direct the yaoguai away from the town and into the nearby forest. As the forest grew darker resentful energy began to stir. A stray thought led him to the way Wei Ying used to pull at the resentful energy from the battlefields of the Sunshot Campaign, but instead to it moving aimlessly like dust being disturbed for the first time with nowhere to go, it was drawn towards him and expelled in ways Lan Wangji had never thought possible. It was heretical and beautiful all at once.
His train of thought halted at the first grunt heard in the forest.
Immediately the juniors drew their swords and stood at the ready. A moment later the yaoguai appeared from the direction of the farmers’ fields. It meant their talismans worked, but it also meant Lan Wangji had a group of inexperienced juniors and a charging yaoguai on his hands.
The yaoguai was definitely an ox before its death. Its flesh still attached to the bones of the creature despite the obvious rot starting to set in. Its horns twisted unnaturally forward most likely due to the waves of resentful energy rolling off it. Around its mouth and neck was a rope tied so tight it had bit into the flesh while the animal was still alive. It must have been from the trap it had gotten stuck in and ultimately perished in.
Lan Wangji had to give the boy credit, Sizhui was the first to react followed by Jingyi less than a moment later. They charged towards the bull and attacked almost in perfect sync before jumping out of the way before they could be injured. Another junior, Lang Qian, managed to keep his composure despite only barely missing the charging beast.
Lan Wangji quickly joined the fight, blocking the majority of blows in an attempt to tire to yoaguai out and allowing the juniors to get some practical knowledge out of the experience. The ox, however, only became more and more agitated, its attacks becoming more and more aggressive. When Lan Hou, a junior on her second only night hunt, blocked a particularly devastating blow and stumbled back Lan Wangji knew it was time for the juniors to fall back. Lan Jingyi grumbled slightly, but didn’t argue knowing it was time.
With the juniors out of the way Hanguang-jun was able to stop holding back quite as much as he did with them involved. Before long the yaoguai stumbled, snorted and stamped the ground as though it wanted to charge before falling to the ground.
“Whoa!” He could hear one of the juniors, Jingyi most likely, say as they ran over, “That was amazing!”
“Do you think I’ll be able to fight like that one day?” Another one asked.
The juniors surrounded their teacher in awe. Before he could tell them never to turn their back on their enemy without ensuring it was incapacitated the yaoguai lunged.
Lan Wangji reacted before he could see what he was doing. Jingyi was shoved into Lang Qian, who stumbled and was caught my Lan Hou. Lan Wangji could feel Sizhui step back as he pushed him to the side as well. He grabbed the handle of Bichen with both hands and drove it downward into the yoaguai’s head. The beast made an angry sound as it ceased to exist as a resentful monster, but by then it was too late. Lan Wangji was pinned to a tree by the horns pinning him through.
He didn’t make a sound save for a sharp inhale.
“Baba!” Sizhui called out on reflex,
“I’ll be okay,” he assured the concerned little faces around him, “Go get help.”
Lang Qian took Lan Xiu with him and promised they would stick together before flying back to the village. Sizhui stood frozen at his father.
“Sizhui,” he said as calmly and painlessly as he could, “I need you to see if Xichen is on his way.”
He mostly wanted his son elsewhere so he didn’t have to see the bloom of red on the robes Lan Wangji could feel forming, but his son couldn’t move.
“Sizhui,” Lan Jingyi said as Lan Wangji said, “A-Yuan”
“C’mon,” Jingyi took Sizhui elbow and moved him gently down the path they came. Jingyi looked back at Lan Wangji, who in turn gave him a nod.
When he was alone the first thing Lan Wangji did was let the breath out he hadn’t known he was holding. Then, he loosened all 6 robes enough to expose his chest. He had never been gored before- lightly gored, mind you, but gored nonetheless. He took himself into account, and confirmed nothing serious had been damaged before attempting to move. He tried to pull the yoaguai out but realized quickly the weight of the creature was being held off him by the horns that pinned him to the tree; the second he would pull himself off the horns he would be bearing the entire weight of the beast. Injured as he was, he wasn’t willing to risk it, not with the way Sizhui reacted.
After a short period of time he could hear rushed footsteps approaching, and a panicked sounding Jingyi.
“Wangji,” a familiar voice called out,
“Over here, Zewu-jun,” he could hear Jingyi saying.
Lan Wangji saw the glowing lantern before they could see him.
“Here.” Lan Wangji called back.
They came close enough that he could see their face. He could also see on their faces what they saw before the injury.
“Oh-“ Jingyi said aloud before Lan Xichen elbowed him lightly.
To anyone else, the great Zewu-jun had schooled his expression into a pleasant smile, but Lan Wangji knew his brother better than anyone and could see the shock in his brother’s eyes as he saw the exposed nipple piercings Lan Wangji normally kept hidden.
“Wangji, are you okay?” Lan Xichen asked,
“I need help removing it,” Lan Wangji explained,
Xichen nodded and immediately started moving next to the yaoguai and directing Lan Sizhui to do the same. Then, on his mark, him, Lan Jingyi, and Lan Wangji pulled the ox horns out of the tree. Lan Wangji let out a light grunt as Lan Xichen’s hands went to apply pressure to Lan Wangji’s abdomen.
“Don’t worry, brother, your son is with the other disciples in town.”
“Thank you,” Lan Wangji said in return as his own hands took over from his brother’s.
“I will help you fly back,” Xichen said,
“Mn.”
The Lan group made their way back. They arrived after curfew, but Lan Xichen had them enter the gates anyways under extenuating circumstances and helped Lan Wangji to the healers. The healers paid no attention to Lan Wangji’s piercings, but he caught his brother’s gaze multiple times staring down with a practiced expression.
“It is best if we don’t tell uncle about those,” Lan Xichen said, “and I will talk to Jingyi as well.”
“Mn,” Lan Wangji sucked in a tight breath as the healer before him cleaned his wounds, “Thank you,”
Lan Wangji walked to the Jingshi slowly with the help of his brother. Once he had changed into something clean to sleep in, he sat on his bed and heard a knock at the door.
“Enter,” he said.
Lan Sizhui stepped in. His eyes ringed with red from having cried earlier.
“Baba,” he said, “I’m sorry.”
His voice hitched as he spoke.
Lan Wangji’s son not-quite ran into his father’s arms, careful of the newly acquired injury.
“I am okay, Sizhui,” Lan Wangji said as he hugged back.
He could hear his son start to cry now, the way his back shuttered with every breath he took, and the cries in his ear. He brought he hand up and petted the back of his son’s head.
“I’m so sorry, Baba,” Sizhui cried out, “I should have known.”
“Shh,” Lan Wangji comforted, “You made a mistake and it was not fatal.”
“But it could have been,” his son hiccupped, “I will take any punishment.”
“A-Yuan, no,” Lan Wangji stopped and looked at his son,
“Baba, I deserve it,” Sizhui sniffed,
“You are punishing yourself already, Baobei,” Lan Wangji said, “I will heal, and you will not make the same mistake again.”
“No, Baba,” Lan Sizhui said.
Lan Wangji smiled softly at his son and hugged him again. Slowly his son stopped his tears, but the calm was fragile. Every few breaths Sizhui inhaled sharply as though he wanted to start crying, but couldn’t.
“Can I sleep here tonight?” He asked,
“Mn,” Lan Wangji said.
The next morning Lan Wangji spoke to his brother about the juniors’ punishment for their negligence. His brother was reluctant to agree, but after seeing the row of distraught little faces kneeling before him, some of which were stained with tears, he knew any punishment he would give them would be softer than how they were already punishing themselves. Lan Wangji knew that punishment, of course, had to be given as penance or the juniors would never forgive themselves for being let off too easily. Next to him Lan Qiren grumbled at the punishment they had been given, but did not argue.
Eventually the juniors began to forgive themselves and finally able to look their teacher in the eye weeks later.
<<<>>>
“…and then you saved him from the fierce corpse, but your robes were torn to shreds in the process,” We Wuxian continued, “And that’s how Nie Huaisang found out!”
“Mn,” Lan Wangi responded as he finished wiping himself off.
“Really?” Wei Wuxian said,
“No,” his husband said bluntly.
“Oh.”
Lan Wangji pulled his husband toward him by his ankle, “C’m’ere.”
“Oh, Lan Zhan, so forward.” he swooned, “If I didn’t know any better I would think you wanted a second round.”
“Well,” Wei Wuxian corrected himself, “second-second round.”
“Mn,” Lan Wangji could feel his husband tense under the introduction of the warm wash cloth on his skin, “Mark your words.”
“Mark my words?” Wei Wuxian repeated before lifting himself into a sitting position and leaning into a kiss.
Lan Wangji happily obliged, allowing his husband’s tongue into his mouth. With his attention occupied Lan Wangji didn’t notice the hand running up his torso until deft fingers pinched his nipple making him gasp swallowed by his husband’s mouth.
“Mark your words,” Wei Wuxian smiled mischievously,
“Mn, I will.”