Wen Xu twists his sword is his grip, aiming it at the Lan's throat. He grins, hollow and bloody, as sharp and deadly as his blaze. The flickering fire is warm against his skin.
"Stand aside," he demands. Maybe he'll let the man go if he obeys.
"I won't let you harm my sect," the man says, ever so stubborn. Wen Xu wants to sigh but what comes out is a scoff.
"Then you will die with it," he says, suddenly bored. Can no one here give him an interesting challenge? He lunges, already knowing that the lacklustre defence put up won't hold. He startles when his sword is deflected, adjusting to take in the new arrival. The new arrival who blocked him with a training sword. Oh, this can't stand. The Lan he had been fighting looks almost panicked.
"A-Huan-" He interrupts, offended and curious.
"You would dare try to fight me with a training sword?!" His spiritual energy is stirring in response to his offence, sucking his emotion out until all that's left is a distant curiosity. He keeps the mask in place, wields the faux anger like a shield.
"The sword doesn't matter when wielded by the proper person," the newcomer, this 'A-Huan', says, distant and serene. Except, that's not right. No matter how powerful the cultivator, lacking the proper sword will always be a drain on the person. Curiouser and curiouser. Wen Xu brings his sword back down, aiming for the Lan's shoulder. Even if he tries to block it, his training sword won't be able to withstand a sword infused with spiritual energy. The Lan seems determined to prove him wrong, snapping around the sword. It glows white and soft blue, deflecting his sword away once more. He can stop the grin. Finally, someone who can- oh shit.
...
Lan Huan catches Wen Xu as the man crumples. No matter how powerful one is, a strong hit to the head is sure to knock them unconscious. He lowers Wen Xu carefully, pulling out a rope to tie the man up. His father seems to still be stuck halfway from surprise to terror.
"A-Huan, how-" Lan Huan interrupts.
"Wen Xu was not the only perpetrator, Sect Leader." He leaves because he can't deal with his father, his sect leader, not now. Maybe not ever.
Lan Haozhi stares out into the Cloud Recesses, thoughtful and full of grief. The remaining fires are being put out and injured disciples are being cared for. The dead are being taken away. Still, most of his attention is not on that.
"There's something wrong with A-Huan," he says, turning to look at Lan Qiren. His brother is eyeing Wen Xu suspiciously, as though he doesn't believe the Wen is unconscious. Lan Haozhi would be similarly suspicious if he hadn't heard the crack of the butt of the sword against his temple himself. It makes him wince just thinking about it. Lan Huan had not been merciful. They'll need to have one of their healers look at him, later. For now, this is more important.
"There is nothing wrong with your son," Lan Qiren says firmly, more confident in Lan Huan's health than his skill, given the way he's poking at Wen Xu with his shoe. His brother has always been a strange one.
"There is," he insists. "He's acting strangely!" Lan Qiren raises his head to give Lan Haozhi a look that's not quite a glare.
"You have not seen Xichen since he was ten," Lan Qiren says and Lan Haozhi would call it venomous if he didn't know better. "People change, brother." You haven't, he wants to say. I haven't, he wants to assure.
"Has something happened to him? Recently?" Is what he asks instead.
"Beyond his home being attacked and nearly burnt down?" Lan Qiren retorts dryly.
"He used a training sword," Lan Haozhi pushes. "Where is his Shuoyue?" That gets a reaction. Lan Haozhi would feel better if this wasn't his son they're talking about.
"...He used a training sword to fight off the Wen?" Lan Qiren asks quietly, brow furrowing in concern.
"Yes!" Relief floods through him as he's finally getting through to his brother. "He has been acting strangely. I-" know my son. Except he doesn't, does he? Sect Leader, Lan Huan had called him. Not father or baba, but Sect Leader. He… hasn't been a father in a long time, has he? His words die in his throats. He swallows thickly, scrambling for something to say. Lan Qiren has realized that he has realized, a grim satisfaction in his expression. Before Lan Haozhi lands on something to say, Wen Xu groans painfully and their attention is arrested.
"Wha…?" He grumbles, words slurring. He almost sounds like a child.
"You're awake," Lan Qiren says. His voice has turned stony. Teacher-mode, Lan Hoazhi liked to call it, before… Before he abandoned his family. That's what he did, isn't it? Wen Xu tries to roll to his feet but he can't quite make it, ending up kneeling before them.
"Didn't think the GusuLan took prisoners." He sneers.
"...Would you have rather been killed?" Lan Haozhi inquires, honestly curious. Wen Xu's expression tightens for a moment before he relaxes back into his lazy facade.
"What are you going to do, little Lans? I don't think torture and interrogation follow your 3,000 rules."
"Perhaps not," Lan Hoazhi says agreeably. "We would not torture you even if they did. Instead, Lan Xichen has offered to house you until your Sect Leader agrees to cease his aggression towards us." Wen Xu scoffs derisively.
"He won't agree to it. He doesn't- He won't give up that easily." Oh, something about that is familiar.
"...Even bad parents care for their children, Young Master Wen," he says quietly. "I should know."
"Yeah," Wen Xu says flatly, emotionlessly. "Sure. Whatever you say."
"...Why didn't you kill me?" Wen Xu asks, tired of watching his captor plan out- whatever it is he's working on. Lan Xichen hums, pausing momentarily in his writing.
"I saw no purpose in it," he explains absently. "I… don't condone needless bloodshed." There's something tight in that. A sensitive subject or trauma rearing its ugly head. If nothing else, Wen Xu should understand that much.
"If our positions were switched I would have killed you in a heartbeat," Wen Xu informs. Lan Xichen glances up at him with a wry smile and tired, tired eyes.
"You're welcome to try," he offers blandly. Wen Xu scoffs, rolling his eyes.
"I lost when you were wielding a training sword, like hell am I going to try when you're within reach of your spiritual partner." Although, now that he mentions it, Lan Xichen hasn't so much as brushed against the pretty white sword in the time Wen Xu has been held here.
"I do sleep," Lan Xichen says.
"Killing you in your sleep would be dishonourable." And honour is the last thing he has that's his.
"It's odd finding you speak of honour when you first pushed a water demon into our lakes and then tried to burn our home down." Wen Xu can't help the grimace. The Lan has a point, after all.
"We were under orders from my father. We couldn't disobey." Lan Xichen frowns, eyes boring into Wen Xu. Somehow, he feels that this Lan isn't quite what he says he is. There's something about him that screams old, powerful. The same sort of power that Wen Xu's father is just breaking into this man carries warily. Immortality gets old fast, he thinks.
"Disobeying could have saved a lot of people, Young Master Wen," Lan Xichen says softly. Wen Xu snorts.
"And anger my father? I don't fucking think so, thanks. He's already going to be angry enough about this."
"We won't let him get to you," Lan Xichen says with a naked sort of honesty. "Not while you're here."
"You can't promise that," Wen Xu snaps because he can't let himself believe. "If it was between me and your sect-"
"Everyone deserves a second chance, Wen Xu," Lan Xichen interrupts firmly. "I'm not going to condemn you just because you weren't taught to treat others with kindness. You were raised in a tough place by a man more monster than father. Few people would have turned out any differently." Lan Xichen loses some of his intensity as if he's getting lost in his memories of someone else. "I believe, given the chance to grow into yourself away from the abusive nature of your home, you can make up for your past transgressions." Wen Xu frowns, not liking the look in Lan Xichen's eyes or the way he's filling in someone else.
"I don't need your pity." Lan Xichen's attention snaps back to him like a taut band.
"I'm not giving it to you. I'm not going to go out of my way to help someone who doesn't want to be helped and I'm certainly not going to put my family in danger trying if you're just going to throw it back in my face." They match each other's gazes, Wen Xu glaring as he turns the words over in his head. Finally, he breaks, eyes flicking down to his lap. Lan Xichen returns to his plans. Family. He wonders what that's like.
(His mind conjures up Wen Chao, starry-eyed and gleeful in his youth and his heart breaks with how he'd been warped by Wen Xu himself.)
Perhaps taking Wen Xu along to Qinghe is dangerous but the boy has made admirable progress. He'll still default to mindless cruelty when he's overwhelmed but he's trying and that's all Lan Huan can ask. Lan Haozhi and Lan Qiren are both uncertain about his decision but Lan Wangji seems to trust him. He has even kept Wen Xu company when Lan Huan just… needed some time. Meeting Nie Mingjue at the gate is a different matter entirely, as the tightness in his chest and throat can attest to.
"Sect Leader Lan," Nie Mingjue says flatly, "is there a reason you're bringing a Wen heir into my territory?" Wen Xu bridles next to Lan Huan. He lays a hand on his arm, his own breath leaving in shudders. Lan Wangji gives him a concerned glance over Wen Xu but he shakes his head. His discomfort isn't important. Lan Haozhi glances back at them for a moment, frowning.
"Wen Xu will behave," he assures. Wen Xu himself frowns at the way he's talked about but stays obediently silent.
"I will take full responsibility for his actions while we're here," Lan Huan says, ignoring the look Lan Qiren shoots him for speaking out of turn. Wen Xu startles at the words, giving him a wide-eyed look. Lan Huan wonders if anyone has ever protected Wen Xu before.
"Fine," Nie Mingjue says. "You better stick by your words, then."
...
Sect Leader Nie- Wen Xu thinks his name is Nie Mingjue -whips around, storming his way into Qinghe. Their group follows. Wen Xu tucks himself farther into his borrowed robes, trying to ignore the eyes on him. He had already been planning on trying his best but now that Lan Xichen is taking responsibility for his every action, the weight on his shoulders is heavier. He… doesn't want to disappoint Lan Xichen. The idea leaves him a bad taste in his mouth nothing like the fear that his father had sunk into him. He could never be a Lan, following 3,000 rules that dictate his every thought. He doesn't need to, though, he just needs to not be his father. And how long has he fought for a chance for exactly that?
"Are you alright?" Lan Xichen asks quietly. Wen Xu glances at the Lan. The question would better be asked of Lan Xichen himself.
"I'm fine," Wen Xu assures quietly, almost taken aback by how much he means it. "Are you…?" Beside him, Lan Wangji seems to perk up, tuning in for the answer. He's just as concerned. Probably more so. Lan Xichen shakes his head.
"I'll be okay." He doesn't continue and Wen Xu doesn't push. He exchanges a look with Lan Wangji. There's something up with Lan Xichen and they want to help.
Nie Huaisang crashes into the war room as Lan Xichen is pouring over the maps and plans, looking for any way to minimize casualties. It's sudden enough that he startles, head snapping up to stare wide-eyed at the other.
"Lan Huan, we need to talk." He looks almost… angry?
"Young Master Nie-?"
"Could you possibly screw over any more of my plans?" Lan Huan's brow furrows, the strange statement taking him off guard.
"I don't understand-"
"Yes, you do, you're not an idiot," Nie Huaisang hisses. He thrums with power, strange and leashed tight. It clicks into place in a moment. Lan Huan frowns.
"You came back as well, then?" Nie Huaisang waves him off.
"Some guy calling himself the Ghost King gave me the opportunity to save my brother. After all I've done, how could I refuse?" Lan Huan bites his lip, thinking about the man he could have loved, once.
"...Mingjue. Of course." Nie Huaisang huffs.
"That's not the point- you made Wen Rouhan change his plans. We never had the damn training camp thing. Lotus Pier is still standing; the Jiang sect hasn't been destroyed." Lan Huan arches a brow.
"I would think that's a good thing."
"It would be if it didn't mean Wei Wuxian got to keep his golden core and, if you've happened to forget, his creation and use of both the Stygian Tiger Amulet and resentful energy respectively are the only reasons we won the Sunshot Campaign." Oh. Yes. That does pose a bit of a problem, doesn't it?
"Between us, we should be able to defeat him-"
"Lan Huan! Wen Rouhan is on the verge of immortality and I am not a fighter. Anyway, you may have reached immortality before but right now, you're missing that power." He swallows in the face of Nie Huaisang's rage and the scope of the issue before them.
"...There has to be a way, without-" The door slams open once more and Lan Huan snaps his mouth shut. Nie Mingjue storms in, glowering at Nie Huaisang. The younger Nie immediately snaps open his fan, covering the bottom half of his face.
"Huaisang!" Nie Mingjue growls. "Stop bothering Lan Xichen and get back to training." Nie Huaisang's expression clearly turns into a pout even with the fan hiding him.
"But Da-ge, I'm not bothering Lan Xichen," he turns to Lan Huan, "right?" Lan Huan hesitates for a moment, swallowing thickly, before gathering himself to answer.
"...A-Sang isn't bothering me, Sect Leader Nie." Nie Mingjue snorts, rolling his eyes.
"Likely story. Regardless, with how things are going, Huaisang ought to practice as much as he can."
"I suppose that's true," Lan Huan says to Nie Huaisang's (real or faked, he can't tell) horror. "You're welcome to take him, he is your brother." Nie Huaisang gasps an overly dramatic sound.
"Lan- You- Traitor! " Nie Huaisang wails as his brother grabs him, dragging him to the door.
"Oh," Lan Huan says, his memory bringing a thought up unbidden. "The Xuanwu…" Both Nies turn to him.
"What was that, Lan Xichen?" Lan Huan smiles, waving them off absently.
"It was nothing," he says. "Just a sudden thought."
Nie Huaisang crashes into Lan Xichen's room, slams the door shut, and tosses himself on the bed. Wen Xu blinks at him, holding his book more tightly.
"Er… Can I help you?" He asks hesitantly. Nie Huaisang shoots up, his eyes snapping over to Wen Xu. He's slightly concerned about the Nie heir. Is he okay? Mentally? Nie Huaisang stares at him for a long moment before groaning and flopping back onto his stomach.
"Just don't tell anyone I'm here," he says. "I'm hiding from training." Wen Xu scoffs.
"This is why you're losing the war," he says before he can stop himself. He winces. "Sorry, habit." Nie Huaisang hums.
"Not surprising. Anyway, I doubt one terrible fighter is going to make a difference." He rolls over onto his side to look at Wen Xu. "Say, where's Lan Xichen?"
"I think he's off with Lan Wangji, why?" Nie Huaisang waves his head.
"Just wondering about something he said earlier. Also we're, you know, in his room." Wen Xu snorts.
"Well I think Lan Wangji's trying to understand what's up with Lan Xichen and I'm pretty Lan Xichen is trying to convince Lan Wangji that Wei Wuxian does, in fact, love him back." Nie Huaisang laughs.
"Those two are rather oblivious, aren't they?" Wen Xu groans, letting his book drop away. He leans forwards, putting all of his attention into the conversation.
"You're telling me. I've spent the last few weeks dealing with Lan Wangji moping and you would not believe the difference being here with Wei Wuxian made." Wen Xu sighs. "Lan Xichen and that Jiang- Jiang Cheng? -are almost as bad." Nie Huaisang pauses.
"Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng?" Wen Xu hums.
"Yeah. You got anyone you like?"
"...No." Nie Huaisang's mood seems to have dropped. Wen Xu narrows his eyes. This isn't his issue. Although…
"You're brother is pretty handsome," he says innocently. Nie Huaisang snaps out of whatever funk he had fallen into, making a face.
"Disgusting!"
...He can help raise the mood.
"This wasn't quite what I had in mind when I suggested that we used the Xuanwu to our advantage," Lan Huan says, exhaustion making him slide down to sit on a rock. His hands are shaking uncontrollably and the smell of blood and rot is seeping through the air like poison. Nie Huaisang sends him a dirty look, sprawled out against a tree.
"It worked, didn't it?" He hisses.
"Well," Lan Huan tries to start, wincing at a pull in his shoulder. Wei Wuxian interrupts before he can finish the thought.
"What the hell guys. No, seriously, what the hell." Lan Huan turns to the other, feeling half-dead and not like he wants to deal with this right now.
"...What do you mean, Young Master Wei?" He asks innocently. Lan Wangji, standing next to Wei Wuxian, gives him a scolding look.
"Xiongzhang," he pushes, knowing he doesn't need to elaborate. Lan Huan can't help the nervous laugh that bubbles out. He had known that they would have questions, sure, but now that he's confronted with them, he doesn't know how to begin. He's not sure he even wants to tell them. Nie Huaisang groans, propping himself up to glower at Lan Huan.
"You're terrible at this, er-ge." That gets Nie Mingjue's attention, more so than they already had it, at least. Nie Huaisang waves him off, flopping back down.
"Yes, er-ge. See, Lan Huan and I are from another timeline." Well, guess the decision has been made for him. Lan Huan tries not to shrink back under Lan Wangji's searching look. Jian Cheng scoffs.
"Impossible," he says flatly, crossing his arms. Nie Huaisang glances at him.
"Not with the help of a martial god and ghost king it isn't." Lan Huan sighs.
"I suppose I'll explain since Huaisang sounds like he's just going to lead you in circles," Lan Huan says tiredly. "What he said is true- we are from an alternate timeline. In the first timeline, our timeline, Cloud Recesses was almost destroyed in the attack. I had to escape with some of our books. While I was gone, I heard that each sect was forced to send their heirs to Qishan for a type of training camp." Nie Huaisang snorts derisively. "During this, Wangji and Wuxian defeated the Xuanwu. This is why Huaisang and I knew how to find it. After the heirs escaped, the Wen sect decimated Lotus Pier and killed most of the Jiang sect, baring Jian Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian. At some point, I know that A-Cheng lost his golden core and Wuxian managed, with the help of Wen Qing, to replace it with his own. To continue to still be useful to the war efforts, Wuxian created demonic cultivation. It was the only way we managed to win the war but… it was dangerous, to say the least." Lan Huan pauses and Nie Huaisang takes over.
"Of course, then san-ge made the grave mistake of killing Da-ge, blaming it on qi deviation, and not expecting me to figure it out. Oh, and Wei Wuxian died and Lan Wangji adopted his son but that's not important until later. For revenge on san-ge, I orchestrated Wei Wuxian's revival. Then Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and the juniors revealed san-ge's deception, I tricked Lan Huan into killing san-ge-" Lan Huan flinches at the reminder but Nie Huaisang continues unbothered. "-a bunch of people cultivated immortality, several hundred years later Lan Huan and I got the chance to fix our mistakes.
"You know," Wei Wuxian says, sounding sick, "I sort of regret asking…"
Nie Huaisang slides in next to Lan Huan and they watch the celebrations together for a moment. His attention keeps getting drawn back to Jiang Cheng, looking bored next to his parents.
"You love him, don't you?" Nie Huaisang asks suddenly. He doesn't have to ask who the other is talking about.
"I…" He fishes for something to say, some excuse to use, and comes up empty.
"You love him," Nie Huaisang repeats firmly. "And you're scared to admit it because you loved Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao and Lan Wangji and you lost them all." Lan Huan's breath hitches for a moment and he has to remind himself to take deep breaths. He's regretted enough.
"...I don't want to get hurt again," he admits quietly. "I don't want to hurt anyone, either." Nie Huaisang sighs, leaning back to stare at the ceiling.
"Jiang Cheng is strong and he's a good man. Or will be, whatever. My brother had- has -the damned Nie curse, Jin Guangyao was selfish enough to try and take the world. Jiang Cheng is neither. As long as you stand by him, he'll stand by you. There's no reason to be scared." Something about that makes Lan Huan glance at Nie Huaisang. He thinks there's something like regret in his face.
"Did you…?" He asks hesitantly. Nie Huaisang sighs heavily, letting his head drop to watch Jiang Cheng again.
"I could have, once. In our original timeline, when we met at Cloud Recesses, I was smitten. I wanted to know more about him, know everything. I wanted to love him. But… the war got in the way. Then, the Yiling Laozu. By the time we could have started anew, it was too late. Jin Guangyao killed my brother and I… changed, to avenge Da-ge. I wasn't the kind of person that could love and be loved by Jiang Cheng."
"I'm sorry," he says softly. Nie Huaisang sighs, waving him off.
"It was a long time ago. It never happened, here. This time, it's your turn. Be happy, er-ge. You deserve it."
