A/N: So I promised updates during the break and I am still keeping to that promise. They just might not be coming for another two weeks because I have a comprehensive exam coming up that basically decides if I graduate from grad school or not. After two weeks though I promise updates. I promise loads and loads of updates. So many updates you will get sick of me. For now, take this as an apology and something to tide you over for the next two weeks.
Also I like to imagine that Lan Wangji is at his pre-Wei Wuxian ressurection age while everyone else is at their post-Wei Wuxian resurrection age. Except for Wei Wuxian himself who is at his Yiling Patriarch age and aesthetic because this girl likes Wei Wuxian with his hair down and with his loose robe look.
The Nightless City burned into the night.
None of the other sects had launched the assault. There had been no warning, no sign of an impending revolt. Seemingly out of nowhere, a sickly green fire had erupted, burning hotter and brighter and bigger than anything the world had ever seen before, engulfing the entire Qishan Wen capital. The blaze was so fierce that nothing would put it out. It devoured everything in sight, nothing had been spared from its unmerciful wrath. The Chief Cultivator and his sons had perished in the fires, bones reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes.
Some said that the Qishan Wen Sect had incited the rage of the celestial gods.
Some said that the fires had come from the underworld itself.
The downfall of the Wen Sect had left the rest of the cultivation world in a panic. The remaining dredges of Wen Sect floundered without the iron fist of their leader and it became short work for the other sects to retake their villages and towns that had been claimed by Qishan Wen.
But as war-ravaged sects were wont to do, they became greedy. They took more than what had been originally their own. Smaller sects soon found themselves overrun and absorbed. Larger ones were torn apart by stronger ones and the spoils divided among the victors.
By some mystic force or perhaps the work of a guardian deity of Gusu Lan, the Lan Sect was spared from the turmoil. Anyone with malicious intent was repelled from the Cloud Recesses by a befuddling fog that blanketed over the land like a protective barrier. Those who attempted to force their way through with talismans or spells were swiftly torn apart by abnormally strong fierce corpses or vengeful spirits that appeared as if from thin air. No one, be it from the Lan Sect itself or other cultivation sects knew what to make of the phenomenon. No one except for Lan Wangji.
In the aftermath of the conflagration that destroyed the Wen Sect, Lan Wangji began to make time in his daily schedule to visit the small forgotten shrine in the forests of the Cloud Recesses. He didn't know what to do in order to show his gratitude for the god who had saved his home but it seemed right and proper to at least visit, and perhaps even rebuild the dilapidated shrine into one that was worthy of the god it housed.
"Did you like it, Lan Zhan?" the god smiled from his perch, eyes bright with the expectation of praise. It was not unlike a puppy wagging its tail, hoping for a pat on the head for a newly learned trick. "Did I do well, Second Master Lan?"
"En."
"It's been so long since I wreaked havoc on the world, and I did it perfectly, didn't I?"
"En."
"Are you happy now?"
"En."
Wei Wuxian pouted, "Can you say anything other than 'en'?"
Lan Wangji resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He hadn't expected the god to be such a childish spirit, jumping and tugging at his sleeves like an overeager disciple yearning for attention from his master. It was oddly endearing, and it made Lan Wangji wonder with bemusement at just who was the all-powerful god and who was the lowly worshipper.
"You did well, lord god," Lan Wangji praised dutifully, offering the deity a tentative smile.
To his confusion, the god's face scrunched up in displeasure. "Urgh, what is with these titles, Lan Zhan? They sound so formal coming out of your mouth! Call me something else?"
"Then… Wei Wuxian."
Wei Wuxian's brows furrowed in heavy thought, "No… I don't like that either."
Lan Wangji tried to hold back his confusion. That was the only name given to him by the god. He couldn't imagine what else he could call the god.
"What would you have me to call you?"
"Hmm…" Wei Wuxian tapped his chin thoughtfully. "How about you call me Wei Ying?"
"Wei… Ying?" Lan Zhan said the words, testing them out on his tongue. For some reason, the name felt pleasing to his lips. It felt right to call the god by this name and judging by the bright grin that burst on the god's face, Wei Wuxian thought so too.
Gray eyes turned molten silver in pleasure at the sound of his own name. Thin lips curled into a smile that caused Lan Wangji's cheeks to burn with hot tingly heat. It was such an odd feeling that Lan Wangji had never felt before. He didn't know if he liked it.
"Yes… Wei Ying," the god rested his head on his arms, and peered at him with contentment. "My name is Wei Ying."
Lan Wangji's heart gave a painful clench in his chest.
It felt a little ominous.
He visited the shrine when he could, but it was gradually becoming difficult to find time around his schedule without arousing the suspicion of his uncle and brother. Lan Wangji wondered why he was making so much of an effort to meet with the illusive god but found that he did not care to hunt for the answer.
He reasoned that he was merely paying back his debt to the immortal deity for saving his home and his family. Surely that required as much fealty as Lan Wangji could offer.
However, the god did not require much in the way of lavish offerings and indentured servitude. He was a slothful thing who enjoyed a little bit of good wine and good food with the occasional conversation, and not much else. Lan Wangji had brought a jar of Emperor's Smile with him once he had learned of the god's enjoyment of fine alcohol and the resulting smile that he received sent a bright flush to his ears.
Having no other recourse for repayment, Lan Wangji took it upon himself to clean up the small shrine as best he could and outfit it with some traditional raiment. He went into the town to look for alter supplies and paints. He smuggled as many tools as he dared to and hid them in the shrine. He even went and searched for the best incense they had in their stock.
Wei Wuxian took all these new additions and repairs with amusement twinkling in his mischievous eyes. He mentioned time and time again that he required no such offerings, but Lan Wangji could tell how much the new renovations pleased him. So Lan Wangji continued and Wei Wuxian watched.
Under his care, the shrine was beginning to look more like a proper shrine.
"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian perked up immediately at his appearance. "You're here!"
Lan Zhan set down the heavy pack onto the newly polished floors. Perhaps today he would begin with fixing the furniture or making some new ones from the trees surrounding the area. And maybe he would consider bringing Wei Wuxian some warmer clothing. While he secretly enjoyed the sight of Wei Wuxian lounging on the altar in various states of undress, it was not doing Lan Wangji's poor heart any favors.
"Mn."
From the pack, he took out a wooden basket and a couple of cloth wrapped packages.
"What did you bring me today?" Wei Wuxian appeared behind him and snuck a hand into the basket.
Lan Wangji slapped the invading hand causing Wei Wuxian to yelp in wounded pain. He pointed at the cloth covered jars instead as he began to dig through the basket himself.
"Emperor's Smile!" Wei Wuxian crowed with delight, hoisting up the alcohol jar like a trophy. "Lan Zhan, you spoil me with all this abundance. I must be the luckiest god in the entire world."
Wei Wuxian wasted no time in yanking the cloth cap off and pouring the contents straight into his mouth. Rivulets of liquor spilled down the god's pale throat, soaking the collar of his robes. Lan Wangji stopped unwrapping the rest of the pack to trace the trail of liquor with greedy eyes. He couldn't hae looked away if he wanted to. If the god was annoyed by the mess or if he noticed Lan Wangji's blatant staring, he made no indication of it.
Sighing in happiness and wiping his mouth with his thumb, Wei Wuxian spied the contents under Lan Wangji's hands and visibly perked up.
"And spicy congee!"
Wei Wuxian's exclamation of joy startled Lan Wangji out of his bald-faced ogling and he quickly busied himself with the pot of congee.
"En," Lan Wangji hummed as he ladled out a bowl from the pot. He passed it to Wei Wuxian would accepted gratefully and inhaled the bowl with the decorum of a man who had been starved for several days and not a god who required no sustenance to stay alive. His cheeks bulged from his haste to shovel as much as the congee as his mouth could fit.
Lan Wangji wiped the edges of Wei Wuxian's mouth with a handkerchief.
"Messy."
Wei Wuxian swallowed his mouth and let out a chuckle, "You take care of me so well, Lan Zhan. What am I to do with such a lovely boy like you?"
Lan Wangji could feel the tips of his ears burn at the praise. He found that he wanted to do more things to earn more praise from the god's lips. As he debated what other delicacies he would bring the next time he visited, the distinct sound of rustling disturbed the tranquil quiet of the forest.
"Wei Wuxian!" an irate voice shouted through the forest. Lan Wangji's head shot up in alarm. No one should know about the god except for him. "Wei Wuxian, I know you're there! Come out now, you sack of shit!"
Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes in affront. Who was the sanctimonious interloper screaming obscenities to a god of all beings?
A man with an expression that could curdle milk burst through the forest, his heavy footfalls kicking up dirt and ruining the perfectly manicured garden that Lan Wangji worked so hard to cultivate. In his hands was a whip that sparked menacingly purple when it so much as moved.
Lan Wangji quickly stood up and slightly in front of Wei Wuxian, a hand inching toward his hip to pull out his sword. But before he could do anything, Wei Wuxian strode past him.
"Jiang Cheng!"
To Lan Wangji's dismay, the god laughed joyously and bounded up to the scary man with arms wide open. Lan Wangji wanted to pull the god back. Clearly the man was dangerous. They should not be entertaining the scary man with the crackling magical whip in his hands.
Before Wei Wuxian could make contact though, Jiang Cheng slammed a palm into his face. "It's been so long!"
"Don't patronize me, you shit lord," Jiang Cheng snarled and shoved the god away. "I know the Nightless City was your doing. I thought you were going to stay out of this. You told me this wasn't your battle to fight."
"Ah," Wei Wuxian rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I did say that, didn't I?"
"So what changed?" Jiang Cheng asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest imperiously.
"Extenuating circumstances required me to become a more active participant in your little mortal affairs," Wei Wuxian replied airily.
Jiang Cheng spluttered, "E-Extenuating circumstances? What the fuck does that even mean?"
Lan Wangji took this moment to appear behind Wei Wuxian and curl his fingers into the god's dark robe possessively. He glared daggers at Jiang Cheng, trying to convey the depth of his displeasure through sheer eye contact alone. Jiang Cheng stared at the brat attached to Wei Wuxian's hip in bewilderment.
"Isn't that the Second Master Lan?" Jiang Cheng pointed rudely at Lan Wangji who looked more than a little insulted. "Why is the Second Master Lan here?"
"Well, we are on Gusu Lan territory," Wei Wuxian answered as if talking to a very stupid child. "Where else would you find a Second Master Lan?"
Jiang Cheng growled in annoyance. "Don't you back sass me, Wei Wuxian!"
"Impudence!" Lan Wangji chided, feeling quite left out of the conversation. To his irritation, Jiang Cheng completely ignored him. To make matters even worse, Wei Wuxian put a hand over his head in placation as if he were the one out of line instead of the more obvious interloper with his very clearly dangerous weaponry.
"So how can I help my lovely little descendant?"
Lan Wangji's head shot up and he stared at Wei Wuxian. Descendant? How could a god have descendants? The thought did not sit well with Lan Wangji. He didn't like the thought that anyone else was close to Wei Wuxian when it was clear the Lan Wangji was the one who was favored.
"Thanks to you, the cultivation world is thrown into turmoil," Jiang Cheng answered., "The downfall of the Wen Sect has created a power vacuum that each sect is looking to fill. Jin Guangshan is eager to become the next Chief Cultivator."
Wei Wuxian rubbed his chin sheepishly, "... I feel like I should be recognizing these names, but I've been stuck here for the past couple of hundred years so you're going to have to be more specific…"
"The Lanling Jin Sect," And when Wei Wuxian still gave him that same blank face, Jiang Cheng groaned. "The peony people. Honestly it's like speaking to a toddler."
Lan Wangji's hackles raised like a perturbed cat. The man needed to leave. Now. He needed to head back where he came from and leave Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian alone in peace.
"Oh!" Wei Wuxian said before snorting, "Those pretentious peacocks? Leading the cultivation world? Please, they wouldn't know how to lead if it bit them in their flabby asses."
"Well, those 'pretentious peacocks' are trying to muscle in on the Wen Sect's old territory," Jiang Cheng interjected. "Are you going to do anything about it?"
Wei Wuxian tapped his chin thoughtfully before beaming.
"Nope."
Jiang Cheng's eyebrow twitched in a way that looked as if he had experienced a mild stroke. Lan Wangji should not have taken such savage pleasure in it but he did and he was petty enough to admit it. His grip tightened on Wei Wuxian's robes.
"No, what do you mean no?"
"You know how I work, Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian answered, "And you know that I prefer to keep to myself."
"Thousands of people are going to die and you're going to do nothing?"
"You know what happens when I do interfere."
Jiang Cheng pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "I do know."
"Besides, I am happy where I am right now," Wei Wuxian turned to Lan Wangji and patted the boy's head. "I'm perfectly happy with my little corner of the world."
A/N: Please leave a comment if you liked this story and want more! I actually have no idea what direction I want to take this story. Please feel free to suggest anything you wanna see.