Author's Notes: It took me a while to finish writing this chapter but, I hope you enjoy it! Please leave a review after you're done. I've been dying to write about the Cloud Recesses for a while, which is why my last update was longer than usual.
Chapeter 9: Welcome to the Cloud Recesses
The Cloud Recesses seemed like a place that came straight out of a fairy tale. In addition to the tall imposing mountains that flanked it from every side, there were also outcroppings of fauna that dotted the landscape and waterfalls that roared with life. A thick mist always seemed to swirl around us, making this place seem less like a place that existed in reality and more like something you'd see in the realm of spirits and gods, floating amongst a sea of clouds. Did Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian really live in a place like this?
Walking up and down a flight of stairs was no easy feat to do when you've got a twisted ankle. This was made even more difficult with the fact I also had a dislocated shoulder. At the inn, I had Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian carrying me up and down the stairs. I didn't want to burden them now that we've arrived back home. Being in the body of a child, you only had so much stamina before you began to run out of steam. These stairs seemed to stretch on for miles without end, making my good leg ache the more and more I soldiered on. It also seemed to be a lot colder here than out in the countryside no thanks to being at a higher altitude and having the winds carrying cold air off of the waterfalls into our vicinity. I silently thanked the villagers of Bai Lian village for having the foresight to gift me with warmer clothing, even if they were now making me sweat from all this walking.
"Xiao-Hua, do you want me to carry you?" asked Sizhui, noticing how winded I looked
"It's okay, Sizhui-gege" I wheezed out in between gasps, "You've already done enough for me; I don't want to bother you."
These men have already done more than enough for me in the span of 24 hours. They've saved me from monsters, nursed me back to health from a fever, cleaned my wounds, gave me a crash course in Mandarin, and comforted me during meltdowns and outbursts. Now I had to pull myself up by my bootstraps as much as I can and be independent. It was the least I could do for them and not be considered dead weight.
The sound of my cane smacking against the stone steps seemed to bounce off the walls of the mountains, amplifying them to embarrassingly loud levels and making me feel even more self conscious about my injuries. I took another step forward, hobbling back and forth as I attempted to steady myself. I silently cursed at myself for getting this badly injured and throwing my center of balance off. I barely managed to get up two steps before I felt my body leaning too far back. My cane clattered on the steps as I shot my arm out in an attempt to balance myself. I could already feel and see my world tilting backwards as I continued to fall. I closed my eyes in an attempt to brace myself for the incoming pain I was going to feel. Instead, I found myself leaning against someone's body and two hands on my shoulder.
I looked up to see Sizhui with a scared look on his face. He helped me back up before he decided to scoop me up in his arms. This only served to fuel my insecurities about being helpless and filled me with annoyance. I knew that in ancient China they had different values here, but at least let me keep some of my pride damnit!
"Sizhui-gege, what are you doing?" I asked in annoyance while blushing with embarrassment. "Please put me down! I can climb these stairs myself."
"When you're injured like this?" he replied, gesturing towards my ankle and my shoulder. "I'd rather you let me carry you than to let you get hurt any further."
Was I really injured that badly? I knew he had good intentions and that he was trying to look out for me, but I couldn't help but think about how condescending and infuriating this was. It was already weird and embarrassing enough that I was stuck in the body of a child! I didn't need to have my ego bruised even further! I was about to open my mouth to protest when I heard a familiar voice cutting me off.
"It's okay to ask for help when you need it. Being stubborn and prideful won't get you anywhere if you get yourself into trouble."
I looked behind me to see Wei Wuxian climbing the stairs behind me. He bent down to pick up my cane and placed it in my hands again.
"Trust me, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble and heartache if I'd just said something earlier instead of trying to put on a brave face. Don't make the same mistakes as me."
He says this with a distant yet sad look in his eyes, like he's remembering a painful memory from long ago. Just what did he mean by making the same mistakes as him? What had he done that made him not ask people for help? Begrudgingly, I let myself be carried again, grumbling the whole trip upwards.
As we neared the top of the stairs, I could make out a large and imposing building in the distance. The logo of swirling cirrus clouds decorated the walls and banners surrounding this compound, reminding me that this really was a place that existed in reality. Next to what I could only assume was the main building was a stone wall with various characters written in a script that I couldn't recognize carved into it. Meng Yao's voice rang in my head as a notification window popped up in my periphery.
"ACCESSING DATABASE. LOCATION UNLOCKED: THE CLOUD RECESSES. A MOUNTAIN RETREAT HIDDEN IN THE MOUNTAINS OF GUSU RUN BY THE LAN CLAN. ALSO DOUBLES AS ONE OF THE BEST CULTIVATION SCHOOLS IN ALL OF ANCIENT CHINA."
Two guards in white came out of the gates to greet us, both putting their hands out together in front of themselves and bowing deeply to us. Everyone else in turn bowed back. Since I currently couldn't do the greeting due to my injuries, I settled with giving them a head nod instead.
"Welcome back, Hanguang-jun and Senior Wei. I take it that your night hunt was a success?" asked one of the guards.
The other one looked my way with curiosity and awe. I couldn't help but feel subconscious again as I buried my face into the crook of Sizhui's neck, that child-like instinct of hiding kicking in again.
"Looks like you've gone and picked up another orphan while you were out. Shall we go and inform your uncle and Zewu-jun of this?"
"No need. We'll go report to them ourselves." said Lan Wangji.
"Xiao-Hua, there's no need to keep hiding your face every time you see someone new. They're not going to hurt you. See? They're friendly!" said Jingyi from behind us. "I'm sorry, she's been through a lot traumatic things so she's a bit shy around new people. Don't take it personally."
I unburied my face from Sizhui's neck to look at the two guards in front of me. They both were giving me matching sympathetic smiles.
"We're sorry to hear that you've been through a lot," One of them said. "But you're here now aren't you? We'll do whatever we can to keep you safe."
I only gave them a sheepish smile and nodded in response to them. For as strict as this clan was from what I heard from Meng Yao, they at least were filled with people with good intentions. They bow to the guards again and Sizhui carefully puts me back down on the ground again as we enter the courtyard and into what I can only assume is the main building. The overwhelming yet familiar scent of sandalwood filled my nostrils as we walked into a hall decorated with tall stone pillars and rock gardens, lit only by the autumn sun filtering in through an open rooftop and a couple of stone lanterns with flames flickering in the wind. This place carried an aura of authority and tranquility, something I haven't felt ever since arriving in this world.
I can't help but be awestruck. To think that a day and a night ago, I was running for my life in a forest filled with zombies and monsters. Now here I was in one of the supposedly best cultivation schools in all of ancient China, though how long this was going to last for, I didn't know. But I may as well make the best of my time here until then.
"Ahh, Wangji! And umm… Wei Wuxian, welcome back!"
An older gentleman with a mustache and a long goatee came out of one of the buildings off to the side. He was very tall and thin, wearing the same intricate robes with light blue clouds over a white and blue hanfu like Lan Wangji, though with slightly less decorations and embellishments. Though he was very attractive, he carried a very strong and authoritative air to him, making him seem older than he looked and someone that you didn't want to make your enemy. A pinging noise rang in my head as a notification window popped up in my periphery again.
"ACCESSING DATABASE. CHARACTER PROFILE UNLOCKED. NAME: LAN QIREN. AGE: 64. OCCUPATION: CLAN ELDER AND HEAD LECTURER AT THE CLOUD RECCESSES."
I watched as everyone saluted him, which in turn made me feel bad about not being able to do the greeting. I could only politely nod my head at him as he eyed me with a mixture of curiosity and dismay. Something told me I was going to have to get used to people looking at me like I was some oddity found in a zoo.
"Shufu." Lan Wanji replied as he raised his head to greet the older man.
"Wangji, do you mind explaining to me why you have a child here with you?" he asked while glancing at me with a stern look on his face.
"Well Uncle," started Wei Wuxian with a mischievous grin on his face. "We went out into a field in Bai Lian village and just found her there buried amongst the radishes! We naturally couldn't resist how cute she was, so we plucked her out of the ground and took her home with us."
If it was possible for a person's face to flush as red with rage as Qiren's face did in that moment, he would have put all things crimson to shame. He looked like he was on the verge of having a stroke or an aneurysm while some of the other disciples were trying their hardest not to burst out loud laughing. I could only stare back and forth between them with a shocked and confused look on my face. The fact that Wei Wuxian can say such ridiculous things without any shame was mind boggling. Qiren looked as though he was going to yell Wei Wuxian when Lan Wangji cleared his throat to diffuse his anger.
"Shufu…what Wei Ying is trying to say here is that we found her in the forests outside of Bai Lian being chased by monsters." He said while he put a hand on my shoulder. "We believe that she may have been taken from her parents by human traffickers. If that is the case, then there might be other people out there that are in need of saving."
Qiren's anger a moment ago was now replaced with shock and concern. The knot in my stomach continued to twist painfully with guilt. To lie to these two and the disciples was bad enough, but dragging people of higher rank into this? Now this lie of mine was getting out of hand. The more people that were going to get involved in this, the more it was going to hurt once they found me out. He almost looked like he was at a loss for words as he was trying to figure out what to say next.
"Oh um…I see…" He mumbled as he stroked his beard nervously. "I think this is something that should be discussed further in private. Wangji, Wei Wuxian, meet me in the Yashi, and bring the girl with you. The rest of you are dismissed!"
The rest of the disciples bowed to him before dispersing and scattering in different directions. I found myself being lead to what looked like an elegant yet minimalistic room with a low sitting table surrounded by cushions. I watch the three men kneel on the cushions, beckoning me to the same thing. I tucked my skirts under my knees as I sat in between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, feeling like I was going to vomit from nervousness.
"Now then, do you mind telling me you name little one?" asked Qiren as he poured me a cup of tea.
"My name is A-Alice sir." I stammer out as I reach for the cup.
"Airisu huh?" he murmured, trying to pronounce my name with a thick Mandarin accent.
"B-b-but if it's too hard for you to say my name, you can call me Lihua! That's what Mommy and Daddy called me at home!"
"Lihua is a fine name indeed… Very well then! Can you tell me about what you were doing in the forest and how you wound up there? Take your time and try to remember as best you can."
Wracking my brain for how my story went, I went and gave him an abridged version of what I told them back in Bai Lian village. Telling a lie of this magnitude was different from telling a white lie. You didn't feel yourself filling with disgust or guilt, and it didn't eat away at you in the back of your mind. You didn't feel like a piece of your conscience was crumbling away, and you didn't wonder if you were going to get to a point where you didn't even feel anything anymore. It hurt to tell it the first time around, and the second time wasn't any different. By the time I finished spinning my yarn, I wanted nothing more than to slap myself for being so dishonest. Lan Qiren stayed silent while he listened to me carefully, a solemn look on his face while he fiddled with his goatee.
"I'm sorry you had to go through something so traumatic and terrifying these past few days." He said quietly. "This truly sounds like something we'd need to discuss with the other sects."
I nearly spat my tea out in shock. No! He couldn't bring the other sects into this! It'd be too many people that would wind up hating me if my lie was exposed! I would be lucky if I didn't wind up being blacklisted by everyone in this country! At best, I'd be a social pariah, and at worse, I'd have my head placed on a pike. But they wouldn't execute a child for something as simple as lying would they?
"But Uncle, Isn't it too early to send word out to the other sects?" Asked Wei Wuxian "We've only just heard about this human trafficking stuff just two days ago!"
"Wei Ying, Jin Ling knows about this, and I'm sure Zizhen would have already told his father about this as well." Piped up Lan Wangji "And if we know anything, I'm sure the Jiang Sect would also get involved in this no matter what."
I could already feel the colour draining from my face. Oh no…Jin Ling was a sect leader?! He was so young though! To have that much power at an age where people were still figuring themselves out… It was too much for me. And he had connections to other sects? The room felt like it was spinning around me and I felt like I was going to start vomiting. And Zizhen… his father was a sect leader as well so there was no doubt he would be relaying the events of the past two days to him as well!
"Lihua?" asked Wei Wuxian as he placed a hand on my own. "Are you okay? You're looking a bit pale here."
"Xian-gege, I don't really feel so good…" I mumbled, squeezing out a few tears for good measure. "My tummy hurts and I feel sick."
I heard a small murmuring of "Oh you poor thing" erupt through the room as Wei Wuxian scooped me up from off the floor. I buried my face in his shoulder, feeling warm and sleepy being held by him, even if a part of me didn't deserve it. Lan Wangji picked up my cane from off the floor and shot Qiren an apologetic look.
"For now, let's just let the Lan Clan investigate this issue first. If we need any further assistance from the other clans, then we'll send out messengers. I can only hope that we can make sure no one else winds up being abducted."
"Very well then," Qiren said while getting up from off the ground. "We shall arrange for her to be taken in by a female disciple and to live in the women's dormitories until this mess is sorted out."
"Oh that won't be necessary Uncle," Said Wei Wuxian. "Because she's going to be living with us as our direct disciple."