AN: Jin Chi, or as he refers to himself in this "A-Chi", is Jin Rusong's birth name in this fic. This is set in a verse where his murderers decided to not only be paid for murder but also try and get paid a ransom as well.

Whumptober 2020: "Pick who dies", Collars, Kidnapped

A-Chi's smelt more dirt in the past three days than he has in his entire life. Not that five years is an awful lot of life, but the closest thing to dirt in Koi Tower was the mud in in the lotus pond Bofu made for Bomu. So far, he's been carried by sweaty men with dirt under their fingernails- one prefers tossing A-Chi over his shoulder, leaving A-Chi's nose pressing into his back, and another grabs A-Chi's wrists and ankles in a grip that he can't break no matter how much he wiggles. He's been dropped in mud and breathed in dust and lost a shoe and hasn't had his hair washed so it's oily and gritty and-

He shoves a knuckle into his mouth, biting down enough to hold it there. The man who throws him over his shoulder doesn't like it when he cries. His knuckle tastes like dirt, and it grits against his teeth.

The door slams open, and the man with the strong grip walks in with a handful of jars swinging from his hand. He sits down at the table across from A-Chi's guard and puts the jars down on it. "Here, found some cheap wine," he says, passing a jar across the table.

"Thank the gods for small mercies." The men raise their jars to each other and take long drinks. "Brat's been quiet for once."

"Ha! Finally."

"Now if only his father would pay the ransom…"

A-Niang always told A-Chi to be careful because he didn't want to get sick. She's right, he doesn't. He followed Tangxiong out into the snow last Winter and spent a week hot and cold and wet and sticky. Outside was not worth all that.

The men kept talking as they sipped from the jars. A-Chi licks his lips and grimaces at the dirty taste. Why hasn't A-Die come and save him yet? He's so hungry and thirsty and everything's dirty and he's going to get sick from being outside for so long! He doesn't want to get sick! He wants to cuddle with A-Niang and pet Tangxiong's puppy and hear A-Die's guqin-

A jar shatters against the wall. A-Chi jams his fist back in his mouth and scoots backward. His bare foot catches against the wood floor, and he whimpers. Holding his foot in the air, he wonders why it suddenly hurts to press it against the floor. The floor. The wooden floor with bits sticking up out of it and dirt caught in every vein.

A-Chi just wants to go home!

"What did you fools do?" the final man snarls as he walks into the shack. "Wang Zhaorong, I told you to keep him quiet, not scare him into waking up the town!"

"He was already crying before I threw the jar at him, Xian Chengwei." The man grabs another jar and takes a big drink from it.

"Who's gonna hear him anyway?" the other at the table asks.

"Me."

The three men leap to their feet. The table flips, and the jars shatter on the floor. A-Chi covers his face as a nasty smell fills the air. Swords clang together. He presses against the wall. If he closes his eyes for long enough, maybe he'll find himself at the edge of the training fields. A-Niang won't be happy with him if he's caught there again, but anything is better than not being home a moment longer.

Silence. A-Chi looks up and hiccups. The three men are bound together in a corner, and the dark-robed man stands in front of him. He crouches down. "Are you alright?"

"I'm dirty," A-Chi says. "And my foot hurts. I scraped it against the floor and now it hurts." He covers his mouth with a sleeve. The air still stunk. "Are you here to take me home?"

The man nods. "What's your name, young master?"

"Jin Chi!" The man's face falls a moment before he smiles again. A-Chi swallows. "Who're you?"

"My name is Song Lan, courtesy Zichen," the man says, kneeling down. He opens his mouth but doesn't say anything for a moment. "I'm… afraid I can't take you home, Jin Chi."

"Why not?" A-Chi wipes his face. "I just wanna go home! Why can't I go home?"

Song Zichen looks away. Then he holds out his arms. "Not here. I'll explain after we get you cleaned up and that foot looked at."

A-Chi let's Song Zichen pick him up. He grips the front of his black robes and stares up the the sword hilt over the man's shoulder. "But I just want to go home to A-Die and A-Niang."

The stars shine in the sky above. The air is cold against A-Chi's wet cheeks. The shack disappears into the trees. Song Zichen sighs. "I'm sorry, Jin Chi. I wasn't quick enough. I'll take care of you now."

"I don't understand, Master Song."

"I know."

AN: Song Lan's just come off a nighthunt where the only presumed, but missing, survivor of a Jin family was a boy about Jin Rusong's age. So there's a small case of mistaken identity here- the actual kid is off traveling with merchants or smth.

Chi- dragon with horns not yet grown
Tangxiong- father's brother's son who happens to be older than you; Jin Ling
Bofu- father's older brother; Jin Zixuan
Bomu- fahter's older brother's wife; Jiang Yanli