"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Pan Wukun had been taking a peaceful walk around the Cloud Recesses when she heard Wei Wuxian screaming at the top of his lungs.
She rushed into the forest to see him clinging to a tree.
"Go away! Go away!" he screamed.
A dog stood at the bottom of the tree, barking up at Wei Wuxian.
The dog wore the LanlingJin sect crest on its collar. It must belong to Jin Zixuan!
But why was Pan Wukun the only one here to help Wei Wuxian?
Shouldn't Lan Wangji be the one saving Wei Wuxian from this dog?! And where was Jiang Cheng?!
Pan Wukun tried to wave the dog away. "Shoo! Shoo! Isn't your owner looking for you?"
This did not deter the dog. It only stepped closer.
Could the dog tell that Pan Wukun didn't want to hurt it? Could it smell that she played with the farmers' dogs in Xuhou?!
Looks like she had no choice but to outrun it.
Pan Wukun picked up a stick from the ground and threw it into the distance. "Go! Fetch!"
The dog ran off.
Pan Wukun felt bad about tricking a dog. But this was an emergency.
She shouted up at Wei Wuxian. "Wei Ying! You need to jump!"
"What?!"
"You have to, Wei Ying! That dog is going to come back before we even have the chance to get away!"
Wei Wuxian trembled. "But…"
Pan Wukun spread her arms open. "I promise I'll catch you!"
Wei Wuxian appeared hesitant, still tightly gripping the tree. He looked into Pan Wukun's eyes.
Then he let go.
"Oomph!" Pan Wukun was not used to carrying a human being. Her arms and knees shook. But she managed not to fall to the ground.
Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face into her shoulder.
Pan Wukun carried Wei Wuxian bridal style and rushed as far away as she could.
Moments later, the dog returned with the stick in its mouth. It was dismayed to find Pan Wukun gone.
The dog sniffed the air, trying to catch Pan Wukun's scent.
Before the dog could chase after her, Lan Wangji appeared and stepped in front of it. He gave it an admonishing stare, making it whine. It understood that Lan Wangji was telling it to return to its owner. It walked away back in the direction of where the LanlingJin sect disciples were staying in the dormitory.
Meanwhile, once Pan Wukun felt that she had run far enough from the dog, she stopped underneath a tree.
She tried to put Wei Wuxian down but he did not let go of her.
Wei Wuxian whimpered, clinging on to Pan Wukun like a lifeline.
The fear in Wei Wuxian's eyes was unlike how Pan Wukun had ever seen him before.
Seeing him afraid like this…it wasn't funny. It wasn't funny at all.
Pan Wukun spoke softly to soothe Wei Wuxian. "Shh, shh, shh. It's ok, Wei Ying. You're ok."
Pan Wukun started humming an old farmer's song. She did so hesitantly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Wei Wuxian's breathing calmed and his grip on Pan Wukun relaxed.
"Are you ok, Wei Ying?"
Wei Wuxian sighed contentedly. "Yes. With you here, Chun-ge, I'm ok."
He rested his head against her shoulder and grumbled, "Would it hurt the peacock not to let his dog run around unsupervised? It was taking a piss right out in the open!"
Pan Wukun chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't think the GusuLan sect cultivators would be too happy about guests' pets making a mess in their forests."
Wei Wuxian laughed.
Wei Wuxian let go of Pan Wukun and stood up. He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed that he had shown such weakness in front of her. "So now you know…I'm afraid of dogs…" He kept his head turned downwards, eyes glued to the ground. "…Not very admirable, is it?"
"Wei Ying…You are still a formidable and brave cultivator."
Wei Wuxian looked at Pan Wukun in surprise. Then he smiled brightly at her.
And Pan Wukun found herself enveloped in Wei Wuxian's arms. "Oomph!"
Wei Wuxian hugged Pan Wukun tightly and laughed. "Thank you, Chun-ge! Thank you! You're my hero! My savior!"
Pan Wukun patted his back, relieved that he was safe and happy now.
She never wanted to see Wei Wuxian in such terror ever again.
Jiang Yanli had been standing outside her room for fresh air when she heard a whine come from her side.
A dog appeared, holding a stick in its mouth.
Noticing Jiang Yanli, the dog perked up.
It rushed up to her, standing on its hind legs and raising the stick in its mouth.
Jiang Yanli noticed the LanlingJin sect emblem the dog wore and hesitated.
The dog's ears drooped and it looked up at her with pleading eyes.
The poor dog looked so sad.
Jiang Yanli obliged, taking the stick and gently tossing it forward.
The dog eagerly ran back and forth to retrieve the stick for Jiang Yanli.
Jiang Yanli took the stick and placed it aside. "That's enough playtime for tonight. You need to return to your owner."
The dog whined and nuzzled its head against Jiang Yanli's leg. It looked up at her with glistening eyes.
Jiang Yanli giggled and scratched the dog behind its ears.
"Star! Star! Where are you?"
The dog ran in the direction of the voice.
Jin Zixuan appeared. He noticed Jiang Yanli and frowned.
"Jiang-guniang."
"Jin-gongzi."
To Jin Zixuan's surprise, Star happily barked and ran up to Jiang Yanli.
"Star! What-!"
Jiang Yanli sent Star a small smile as the dog hopped up and down excitedly in front of her.
Jin Zixuan clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "No! Star! Come back here right now!"
Star immediately obeyed Jin Zixuan and returned to his side.
"Apologies, Jiang-guniang. Star tends to be playful around everyone, including new people."
Usually, Star didn't take too long when she went off to relieve herself. She must've spotted another person and wanted to play with them.
Jin Zixuan figured out that Jiang Yanli must've played with Star. He noticed how nice Star acted around Jiang Yanli. So she couldn't be a horrible person. But that didn't mean he had to be happy with her being his betrothed.
He didn't want to talk with Jiang Yanli. So he might as well just leave now. "I must take Star back and rest for the night. Goodbye, Jiang-guniang."
"Wait, Jin-gongzi!"
Jin Zixuan turned back to look at Jiang Yanli irritably. "What is it?"
"Some of the disciples from YunmengJiang sect are allergic to dogs."
The truth was that Jiang Yanli didn't want Star to distress Wei Wuxian. His fear of dogs was kept secret to protect his reputation and pride. Neither Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, nor the rest of the YunmengJiang sect wanted an enemy to harm Wei Wuxian with this knowledge either.
Jin Zixuan nodded in understanding. "All right. Star shall be properly monitored and kept far from anyone in the YunmengJiang sect."
"Thank you, Jin-gongzi."
"If there's nothing else, goodbye, Jiang-guniang," Jin Zixuan said gruffly.
Jin Zixuan left with Star following close behind him.
Jiang Yanli's heart ached as Jin Zixuan turned his back to her without a second glance.
At first, Jiang Yanli had been afraid that Jin Zixuan would be cruel like his father. Luckily, he wasn't.
Jin Zixuan was not just kind to servants but to his pets as well. How could Jiang Yanli not love him?
But she knew that Jin Zixuan did not love her back.
Their marriage was arranged, just like Jiang Yanli's parents. Supposedly, Jiang Fengmian had given up pursuing Cangse Sanren and was pressured by the MeishanYu sect to marry Yu Ziyuan.
Was Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan's relationship doomed to be strained like their parents?
Jin Guangshan was said to be unfaithful to Madam Jin.
Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan were distant from each other. This was so well-known in the cultivation world that people even questioned if Wei Wuxian was secretly Jiang Fengmian's bastard son with Cangse Sanren.
Once Jiang Yanli married Jin Zixuan, she would have to move out of Lotus Pier to live with his family at Golden Carp Tower.
If Jin Zixuan ignored Jiang Yanli or berated her, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian would not stand for it.
Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan's future alliance as sect leaders could grow sour.
The tension between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan could end up breaking their families apart.
Jiang Yanli tightly clutched her robes.
She just wanted to stay with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng and be happy with them forever.
These carefree days they spent at the Cloud Recesses were some of the most fun they ever had.
Whatever happened next, after their studies at the Cloud Recesses ended, she hoped the future would turn out all right.
A/N: I drew Jiang Cheng Pikachu, which you can find in Astray's Artwork on AO3.
Listening to Audiobooks while drawing art has been great! Text-to-speech for listening to fanfic is great too. I get reading and drawing done at the same time! Feels like Storytime when the teacher or librarian reads books out loud while I do an art activity.
