Operation Barking Dog
by Rose Thorne
Disclaimer: I don't own mdzs characters.
Chapter 8
Wei Ying's birthday was a quiet affair, different only in that Lan Wangji asked Hu-furen to cook some spicy foods and sau mein, providing a whole fish and whole chicken, along with other ingredients needed for a birthday meal.
Earlier in the day, they picked up the ordered clothing in the nearby town, keeping the shoes off for another trip to avoid the bad luck of shoes as a birthday gift, spent the day at the market, where Lan Wangji found a fur-lined hooded cape that would keep Wei Ying warm during their travels.
They returned to the farm to a beautifully cooked meal complete with sweet lotus paste shoutao Lan Wangji had purchased in town, hongdan, bai qie ji, whole steamed fish with scallions and shitake mushrooms, and tangyuan, along with millet and a variety of vegetable dishes—including tudou si to satisfy Wei Ying's love of potatoes.
Though normally such a celebration was reserved for the elderly or very young, this was Wei Ying's first birthday since his resurrection, and Lan Wangji was of the opinion that it deserved recognition by virtue of being miraculous. He simply told Hu-furen it was a milestone birthday and let it rest there, and she didn't pry. The hongdan were her addition to the meal, serving in part as a birthday gift for Wei Ying from the Hu family, the eggs from the family chickens.
The dinner was a surprise for Wei Ying, who was delighted, but also a little withdrawn at odd moments, perhaps remembering past birthdays, with people long dead. The children presented him with drawings they made for him, some featuring the writing he had taught them, and that seemed to cheer him considerably.
In the weeks that followed, Wei Ying's tolerance of any dog or puppy save Xiao Ta did not improve more than it already had, and the weather worsened. While Lan Wangji was unbothered aside from occasional issues with his scars, his core strong enough that the cold barely registered, Wei Ying struggled, burying himself in the blankets they'd purchased and burrowing against his side at night but still shivering. Even the new, warmer robes had a limited effect. The shed itself had no stove or fire, nor could it, and he eventually asked if Wei Ying would prefer they took a room at the inn in town for the rest of the winter, concerned the cold could lead to illness.
"I've never been good with the cold," Wei Ying confessed. "But I had to make do with limited supplies during winters in Luanzang Gang—if we pick up some supplies in town, I should be able to make this space nice and cozy."
Then he sneezed, and admitted a couple of nights in an inn would be welcome, as he would need time to put it all together.
When they let the Hu family know after breakfast the next morning, A-Ning insisted they take Xiao Ta with them so she could be warm at the inn, too, and Wei Ying caved quickly, tying the little creature to his chest in a sling and tucking her underneath his outer robes, so she would benefit from his body heat and be snug under his cape as well. Fortunately, the puppy no longer required as much care as she had in the first few weeks, no longer needing to be stimulated to eliminate her bladder or bowels, but she still needed regular feedings; though she could get some milk from her mother at times, she was just too much tinier than her siblings to compete. Her eyes were open now, and she was very curious and wriggly, communicating in soft puppy croons, but settled easily enough in the sling, the warmth and a full belly urging her to sleep.
Xiao Pingguo was significantly less enthused to be brought from the relative warmth of the barn, immediately trying to step on Wei Ying to express her discontent, only stopped by Lan Wangji's quick reaction.
The trek itself wasn't terribly unpleasant, quiet but for the wind and Wei Ying's flute, Xiao Ta occasionally crooning along, until his hands were too cold to be outside of mittens and he tucked Chenqing away in favor of staying warm. So instead he talked the rest of the way, explaining his intended remedy for the cold, which hinged on buying six large blankets, sewing talismans for keeping cold out on one side of each, and talismans for giving off heat to the other side, to be hung from the ceiling, walls, and placed on the floor of their shed.
"Popo was delighted when I came up with them—said her old bones couldn't handle the cold as well as they used to, and she had difficulty with arthritis anyway. I even made her some warm packs for the painful nights."
That explained how he was so confident with the Hu's water bottle, which they had not brought with them, Lan Wangji realized, and thus would need to purchase something to keep Xiao Ta warm while they were in town. Likely Wei Ying would opt to stick to what worked and buy a new water bottle, but he was just as likely to try something experimental.
Wei Ying fell silent again, and Lan Wangji knew he was remembering the elderly woman whose blood corpse had come to protect him and Sizhui, likely facing a grief over a decade old but still fresh to him.
While the situation in Luanzang Gang had been difficult, in some ways the Wen remnants had been something of a family to him in the final years of his first life, and he could not fault him for such grief—he had so many to mourn. Lan Wangji wondered if perhaps they should at some point venture to Dafan Shan and visit the cenotaph with their remains, wondered if Wei Ying would want to burn joss for them, just in case any lingered and would appreciate such a gesture.
Lan Wangji, despite everything, had never truly learned to mourn, instead focusing on living his life doing the good that Wei Ying would have done, had he lived, and he did not know how to help him in his grief. He had found that grief was a profoundly personal thing at a young age with his mother's death, but Wei Ying had experienced waves of loss—his parents, the Jiangs and Jiang disciples, the Wen remnants, his sister… If his own grief had been powerful enough to lead him to brand himself in a fit of mental anguish, seeking a physical pain that would rival it as well as a closeness with Wei Ying when he was gone, he didn't know how the layers of loss affected Wei Ying.
They went to the market first, before even renting a room at the inn or boarding Xiao Pingguo at the stable, with the intent to stay in after taking advantage of the baths again and having dinner sent up. His new shoes were their first priority, followed by the components for Wei Ying's project.
Wei Ying was particular about the blankets, not wanting anything too thin and discussing the construction with the shopkeepers, and even more particular about a large amount of cinnabar-dyed embroidery thread and a set of embroidery needles. They also purchased a basket, terrycloth, soft bedding, goat's milk, and a water bottle for Xiao Ta's comfort. Wei Ying discovered a shop selling little household items that had a crude but adorable little rabbit-shaped ceramic vessel with a spout as its mouth, meant for very young children and infants to suckle from.
"It might be more effective than the rags for Xiao Ta, even if it won't be used long," Wei Ying said, his voice distant.
The Hu family patriarch had mentioned she would start growing teeth in a few weeks, and while she could then be started on more solid foods, she was behind her siblings in growth, having been the last to open her eyes. The worry was how Wei Ying would react to her new teeth.
"And anyway, we can hang onto it after and add it to your bunny collection," he added with a smile, as though the collection didn't live in a qiankun pouch and wasn't mostly added to by Wei Ying himself.
When they reached the inn, Wei Ying took their purchases up to room once Lan Wangji rented it for the night, eager to feed Xiao Ta, while he stabled Xiao Pingguo, leaving apples to the stableboy for her, with permission to have one as well. The youth's surprised grin, briefly thrilled, as though they both didn't know full well the boy would have had one regardless, reminded him oddly of Wei Ying. If he had not been found by Jiang Fengmian, might he have eventually been able to find such work and lived a normal mundane life, never to meet Lan Wangji but without the tragedies that he'd endured? An unsettling idea for reasons he can't explain even to himself.
On his way to the room, he stopped the owner and arranged for their dinner be sent up, early but necessary for the half shichen needed between a meal and a bath, choosing several spicy dishes for Wei Ying as well as ones that would suit his own palate.
Lan Wangji found him sitting near a low table, holding Xiao Ta gently as she successfully suckled at the spout, grinning and practically humming with excitement.
"Lan Zhan, I think she'll be able to drink more this way, look!"
The Hus were concerned about whether the runtling was able to intake enough through the rag, always seeming more satiated when she was able to suckle from her mother, and Wei Ying had fretted about it, attached now to Xiao Ta in a way Lan Wangji suspected would never hold true for any other dog.
He also knew the big test would come when Xiao Ta's teeth came in, as puppies could bite at that point on, and that Wei Ying was treating this task with the sort of seriousness he applied to things he cared about, sometimes testing himself by letting the little runt suckle and gum at his fingers, occasionally pulling them away when it became too much. Lan Wangji could see the fondness and protectiveness he displayed toward Xiao Ta, the sort one would give a baby animal, but she was a dog, and this was progress enough for him to have faith that Wei Ying could be ready when it came, and he would support the attempt regardless of the outcome.
The food was delivered as the puppy settled to take a short post-meal nap wrapped in one of several short bolts of soft terrycloth they'd bought at the market, along with tea for himself and wine for Wei Ying.
Wei Ying spoke through the meal, of course—Lan Wangji had long ago stopped expecting anything else, and Wei Ying never pressured him to speak—alighting on different points of interest, from characters to remember to teach the Hu family based on their time in the market, to his plans for the assorted supplies he had gotten. He intended to put the water bottle in the basket with soft bedding above, then the terrycloth with Xiao Ta, so any mess would be on the terrycloth, easily switched out and washed. The walls of the basket would still be high enough that she would have a challenge wriggling her way out if she woke while they were bathing.
"And the basket handle will make it easier to carry her while we travel," Wei Ying chirped, then added, "back to the Hu farm, I mean."
He wondered if the slip meant anything, if Wei Ying had started imagining the puppy with them on their travels. Lan Wangji wouldn't mind it, of the opinion that Wei Ying should have everything he wanted in this life.
Wei Ying put his plans into motion after they finished their meal, though he occasionally picked at the remains as he worked, letting Xiao Ta wriggle around on the terrycloth, occasionally shifting her to a new direction when necessary or letting her nuzzle at his fingers in a sort of play. By the time the bed was ready, a replacement of the terrycloth was needed as well, and Lan Wangji set the soiled one aside to have cleaned with some of their laundry. Wei Ying settled Xiao Ta in her new bed, the pup worn out after eating and playing, and they gathered a change of clothing before heading to the baths.
The post-bath routine was similar to their last stay, Wei Ying permitting him to comb his hair with his own sandalwood-scented oils after the tangles frustrated him, but it was early yet.
With the aid of lighting talismans as daylight waned, Wei Ying showed Lan Wangji the talismans he had invented toward the end of his first life, in Luanzang Gang, to protect the elderly refugees from the cold in winter, deceptively simple and brilliant. On the side to face outside, a barrier to cold, while on the inside, a talisman that would radiate warmth, working in tandem to keep a space warm, something that could have many applications.
"It'd work on buildings if I modified it, but sometimes you don't want to keep out cold or have a space be warm, though if I worked at it I could design those as well," Wei Ying said when he asked. "They're just kind of intricate and better on certain materials, which is why I was asking the shopkeeper all those questions about the blankets."
Lan Wangji was not adept with talismans, having chosen to focus on musical cultivation instead, and so could only listen to Wei Ying and ask questions to gain understanding of his ideas, but that never seemed to bother his companion, who insisted that outside perspectives helped him think.
What threw him was the fact that Wei Ying intended to embroider the talismans on the blankets with the cinnabar embroidery thread, not because he didn't know it was possible—the Lan clan robes were embroidered with protective enchantments—but because he hadn't known embroidery was one of Wei Ying's skills.
When he said as much, Wei Ying laughed and explained that Jiang Yanli taught him, long ago when he was recovering from an injury and bored, to try to help pass the days until he had healed, his voice tinged with nostalgia. Though he hadn't used it much except for mending his clothing, he had taken it up again while exiled in Luanzang Gang with the Wen remnants, using it to help with his research and inventions mostly, though Popo had given him clothing to embroider when Wen Qing insisted he take a rest.
For the moment, the memories did not seem to cause him pain, and Lan Wangji was content to listen to him ramble, watching him deftly thread the needle and start on the first talisman, about how the medium had not worked well with the Zhao Yinqi, and so he had determined that paint or blood was more effective for more complex talismans, though embroidery gave more permanence.
Lan Wangji let Wei Ying's voice wash over him as he composed a letter to Lan Xichen to update him on his travels, pausing to ask questions at times. A letter from his brother had been left in place of the remnants of dinner. When they decided to stay in the area for a time, he had let his brother know to send correspondence to the inn. Unsurprisingly, he had also sent a pouch of tael to spend on their journey, which he had to admit was welcome after having purchased a small wardrobe for Wei Ying.
He transferred the contents of the pouch to his purse, still the one that had held herbs from Luo Qingyang all those years ago in the Xuanwu cave, which he had jealously stolen. Perfume sachets were courting gifts, and there had been a possessive part of him that had made him act then. Lan Wangji had tempered that tendency over the years Wei Ying was gone, but he still kept the purse.
Wei Ying was focused on his embroidery, and Lan Wangji could see characters meant to keep cold out on the talisman he was working on, privately awed by his ingenuity. Many mundane people, especially those of few means such as farmers, would benefit greatly from such an invention, as there were often deaths during cold snaps, those unfortunate who could not keep warm enough. Were these talismans, even paper that could be adhered to walls, produced for the masses, it would save lives and add comfort to many more.
"The talismans use ambient resentful energy, so they worked pretty well in Luanzang Gang; I'm sure they'll work just as well outside, and prevent local problems since they siphon off resentment."
His fingers, deftly handling the needle, paused.
"I'm sure I could rework the talismans to use ambient spiritual energy, though."
Wei Ying wasn't quite looking at him, and Lan Wangji realized with a pang that he was expecting condemnation, something he had so often given him without meaning to in his previous life.
"No need," he said after a moment. "Wei Ying's ideas are sound."
His ideas were of course unorthodox, but Lan Wangji had decided through painstaking reflection in the years of Wei Ying's death that wasn't necessarily a bad thing—were not multiple sects shamelessly using his inventions because they were brilliant and useful, even as they condemned him for having created them? If these siphoned resentment and transformed it, how could they be bad? He didn't know how to say these things, knowing there was no use in his years of regret with Wei Ying sitting here in the warmth of the inn with him.
"Aiya, Lan Zhan, you really are too much sometimes," Wei Ying finally said after a moment, returning to his embroidery.
But he seemed more settled than he had before, more at ease as he worked.
Wei Ying worked quickly, pausing only to give Xiao Ta more milk when she woke and started whimpering, but he paused and stretched once the pup was asleep again, blinking ruefully at the lighting talismans that were no longer enough light, clearly in need of a break.
"The night market?" Lan Wangji suggested.
The town was small and winter meant the night market was even smaller than it normally was, but it was a distraction he was certain Wei Ying would appreciate.
He brought out the package of new shoes for Wei Ying, both slippers to be used for indoors, which he didn't have, and boots for traveling, as Wei Ying's were worn out. Wei Ying laughed quietly at some unknown amusement as he changed into the boots.
"They'll take some time to break in properly, but they fit well, so hopefully they won't cause sore feet," Wei Ying said once he had them on.
As they left the inn, Xiao Ta in her basket in tow,he launched into a short tale how the first shoes Jiang Fengmian had gotten him had been too big and he worried about being a bother despite his sore feet, so Jiang Yanli had ensured his shoes fit once she discovered it and thereafter.
"My feet were smaller than Jiang Cheng's, and he'd assumed we were the same size because we were the same age," Wei Ying finished.
The memory seemed as though it was positive to Wei Ying, but all Lan Wangji could wonder was how a man with children could possibly make that assumption, and what shopkeeper would allow him to put ill-fitting shoes on a child. So many of his memories seemed tinged by neglect.
"Mn," he settled on, not quite sure how to reply.
"Shijie sorted it out in the end," Wei Ying said softly. "She was the best."
Lan Wangj knew the flavors of Wei Ying's grief, knew her death had broken him at Buyetian Cheng, knew he had unfairly burdened him at the end of his first life with his inappropriate feelings, only adding the the maelstrom that led to the First Siege of Luanzang Gang. To so much more of his grief. He had resolved to never burden him so again.
The night market consisted of booths of street food and low-level luxury goods like lanterns or small paintings, nothing so big as a larger town would host, but vibrant in its own way. Wei Ying managed to find two handmade bunny masks, one black and one white, and Lan Wangji immediately drew out his money pouch to pay for them—for although his zhiji was the one to add to their collection, he was happy to enable him.
After he ensured Wei Ying had some warming snacks from the market, in particular a large bag of tang chao lizi and another of dong shizi, they returned to the warmth of the inn. The dong shizi he used a stasis talisman on, one he had apparently invented in Luanzang Gang to preserve food, to keep them fresh.
Xiao Ta was hungry again, and suckled easily from rabbit vessel, and while she sated herself Wei Ying worked further on his talisman embroidery. Lan Wangji took over her care, petting and allowing her to wrestle with his hand, to allow him to work. It was wonderfully domestic, uplifting that he could be with Wei Ying in this capacity.
Before long the puppy was asleep and tucked into her basket. Lan Wangji waited until Wei Ying finished a part of the talisman, the light too low and the hour past hai shi, before gently bullying him to ready for sleep, reluctantly taking the other bed himself. He knew his zhiji would likely be restless before settling, but he tried to help him avoid staying up all night working on projects. He fully expected Wei Ying would get back up and eat some of the snacks from the market and drink the wine Lan Wangji had set out for him from the innkeeper's stock, but he expected having access to an actual bed to be something of a luxury, one he should enjoy.
"See you tomorrow, Lan Zhan," followed him into sleep.
Instead, Lan Wangji woke long before mao shi, confused momentarily as to why until he realized across the room Wei Ying was thrashing in his sleep, his breath like choked-off screams, in the throes of a nightmare.
Wei Ying woke when he called out to him, sitting up panting in the bed, and Lan Wangji rushed to his side.
"Just—Just a nightmare," Wei Ying murmured, clearly trying to dismiss it. "I wish it hadn't woken you."
Lan Wangji had never known him to have nightmares, but when he said so, Wei Ying laughed hollowly.
"It's better when we share a bed, but I need to get used to them; you'll need to return to Gusu eventually, and I know you don't like touch. You've been very tolerant of me."
Cosleeping had helped, and yet Wei Ying felt he was a burden while Lan Wangji had felt selfish for enjoying it secretly.
"It is no burden, not with you," he murmured.
Wei Ying looked up at him, his expression captivatingly his even on a different face, his essence in a new form, and Lan Wangji didn't want to look away. He struggled for words, his words so often having the opposite his intended impact.
"Were it my decision, I would not be separated from you again," he managed after a moment. "I am selfish in this."
"You said…" Wei Ying started, then broke off as though trying to find the words. "When you drank, when you told me you like rabbits, you said you had regrets. I don't want you to feel obligated to me for anything. You don't owe me anything from the past, Lan Zhan."
"The past is past," Lan Wangji said slowly. "The present is now. I know what it is to be without you, and I wish to be with you."
There was a long and pregnant pause, Wei Ying looking up at him, so much shorter now, his eyes shimmering in the sparse light of the moon coming in from the closed shutters.
"Lan Zhan… I might get the wrong idea."
Lan Wangji shook his head, a bit confused by what the wrong idea could be, aside from…
"I would not burden you again."
Wei Ying tilted his head, his expression concerned.
"Burden me? Lan Zhan, when did you burden me?"
Did he not recall? Lan Wangji was hesitant to remind him, but he seemed so earnestly confused. And he had made a vow to himself to stay by Wei Ying's side in all things, something dishonesty by omission didn't allow.
"After Buyetian Cheng, when I returned you to Luanzang Gang…"
"After?" Wei Ying interrupted. "You're how I got back to Luanzang Gang? Lan Zhan, I don't remember anything from that time—is that why you were punished?"
He reached forward as though to touch his shoulder, where a particularly viscious lash had sliced the flesh and scarred over.
Lan Wangji's world spun a little—he'd assumed Wei Ying knew, that it had been only another weight that had carried him to his death. Hope stirred.
"Lan Zhan, nothing you could say would be a burden to me," Wei Ying said, finally gripping his arm. "Nothing."
With Wei Ying's touch, Lan Wangji felt emboldened, and the words spilled out.
"I love you. I have loved you since our blades crossed under the moon at Yunshen Buzhichu, when we first met."
Wei Ying let out an indecipherable noise, and Lan Wangji braced himself.
"All that time?" he whispered. "I thought you hated me."
His breath came out in a rush. Too many had believed that, but it had never been true, and it rankled him that Wei Ying believed it. Perhaps that was the real burden he had carried to his death, and Lan Wangji would need to be better with his words in the future.
But Wei Ying didn't seem bothered by his confession.
"Never. Could never hate Wei Ying. I… have difficulty with words. But I have always felt thus."
Before he could react, Wei Ying threw himself into his lap, clinging to him like a limpet.
"Lan Zhan! You're really great. I like you, or in other words, I fancy you, I love you, I want you, I can't leave you, I whatever you. I want to night-hunt with you for the rest of my life. I don't want anyone but you—it can't be anyone but you—"
Lan Wangji could only helplessly repeat the sentiments, too overwhelmed to find words himself, though he allowed himself to indulge in tipping Wei Ying's face up for kisses between them. He had kissed him once, long ago, in a dark moment, but this was reciprocated and made his heart sing.
Before long, he pressed Wei Ying against the mattress and they were otherwise occupied for some time.
He would wake past mao shi, tangled with Wei Ying, filled with joy at what the future could now bring.
It would take several days for Wei Ying to finish his project, as distracted as they too easily became, and for the rest of the winter they spent the days helping at the Hu farm and teaching the family, and the nights passionately learning each other, snug in the shed with Wei Ying's ingenious talismans.
Spring would find them headed to Yunmeng, a gifted (though Lan Wangji left some tael in exchange) Xiao Ta sometimes snuggled in a saddlebag on Xiao Pingguo, sometimes prancing around following her. She was intended as a gift for Jiang Wanyin, Wei Ying hoping to draw him out of seclusion and mend their relationship with the gift of the only dog he wasn't afraid of.
And if they completed their bows along the way, that was just one more thing for Lan Wangji to appreciate, making Wei Ying officially his husband.
Finally complete! I hope this is everything rymyanna hoped for. Sorry it took so long to finish it.
Writing has been delayed by getting my gallbladder removed and a subsequent infection, both of which led to hospital stays. I'm okay now—home health nurse checking in and everything. It was my first time staying in the hospital! I actually got sick on my birthday.
bai qui ji = whole poached chicken
Buyetian Cheng = Nightless City
dong shizhi = frozen persimmons
hai shi = 9pm, Lan bedtime
hongdan = dyed red eggs
Luanzang Gang = Burial Mounds
sau mein = longevity noodles
shoutao = peach buns
tang chao lizi = sugar roasted chestnuts
tangyuan = sweet rice balls
tudou si = stir-fried shredded potatoes
Xiao Pingguo = Little Apple
Xiao Ta = Little Otter
Yunshen Buzhichu = Cloud Recesses
Zhao Yinqi = attraction flag