Sect Leader Lan was dying.
Lan Jiayi sighed and rubbed her temples to stave off a mild headache. She was exhausted and she longed for a pot of tea and some time to meditate in peace but she was the Head Healer and for something like this, she had to be awake and working.
Sect Leader Lan was dying and it had almost been overlooked because of his seclusion.
Sometimes Jiayi resented the legend of Lan alphas only loving once. What good had it done? Qingheng-jun had mated a murderer and then withered away in seclusion, Hanguang-jun had fallen for a demonic cultivator who, in hindsight, hadn’t been the power-hungry maniac he’d been painted to be but he’d still gone and died, leaving their sect’s poor Second Young Master to suffer alone for so many, long, lonely years.
And now…
Jiayi closed her eyes for a moment and centered herself, circulating her spiritual energy through her meridians for a couple of rounds. She might not have time for proper meditation but even this much was enough to calm her—as much as she was able, at least.
Sect Leader Lan was dying and it was her duty to tell his family.
They found out by pure accident. The disciple who had been in charge of taking Sect Leader Lan his breakfast tray was one of the juniors frequently associating with Hanguang-jun’s son and his best friend, and some of their irreverence must’ve rubbed off of her. She’d noticed the untouched dinner tray right outside the Hanshi’s door and instead of merely replacing the tray with the fresh one, she’d knocked on the door.
And then she’d asked if Sect Leader Lan was feeling well.
Disciples were strongly advised to never disturb a seclusion, especially when the secluded one was one of the Sect heads. Lan Xing, bless her stubborn heart, later said she scented something was off and apologizing profusely, opened the door. Jiayi hadn’t found it in her to scold the distraught disciple when she’d quite possibly saved Sect Leader Lan’s life, but she’d told her to seek out Lan Qiren later.
Sadly, it hadn’t been too hard to figure out what was ailing their young Sect Leader. Jiayi might be old and unmated but she wasn’t a stranger to matters of the heart or the drive of one’s baser instincts. After all, she had been in charge of the anatomy and mating cycle lessons for over sixty years; there was little she didn’t know about the way bodies and hormones worked. Therefore, it had taken her less than an incense stick’s time to confirm her initial fear: The Curse of Entanglement.
Sweet Heavens. Hadn’t these boys been through enough already?
She saw understanding and resignation flash in Qiren’s eyes before he ducked his head and let out a breath. Unsurprising, considering his brother had suffered from the same ailment. Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian, however, looked confused.
”A curse?” Wei Wuxian asked, his eyes darting from Jiayi to Qiren and back.
”A perversion,” Qiren muttered and scowled into his tea.
”That’s not a term I prefer,” Jiayi said tightly, pinching her lips together in disapproval. Acting Sect Leader or not, Jiayi had seniority here and she didn’t like attaching unneeded sentiment to illnesses. ”The Curse of Entanglement, while rare, is sadly not uncommon in our sect. An unfortunate side-effect of the Lan only loving once, I’m afraid.” She drank deeply from her cup and nodded her thanks when Wei Wuxian hurried to refill it.
”Usually, when one’s bonded mate dies, the existing bond slowly shrivels until it’s like a scar; a phantom limb that stays in the background but that reminds of its existence every now and then. The Curse of Entanglement however acts almost as a bond rejection but unlike in regular rejection, the withdrawal symptoms don’t let up. If anything, they only get worse.” She frowned slightly. ”Our records are sparse and a lot was lost when the library was burned but it seems that if the relationship between the surviving individual and the deceased one wasn’t—” she paused to consider her words carefully, ”—balanced, the chance for The Curse of Entanglement was high. And unlike a bond rejection, The Curse of Entanglement doesn’t require an actual bond to activate.”
Wei Wuxian frowned. ”But—if it’s a curse, is there something to be done? A talisman perhaps—if I could study it, I might be able to come up with something to help—”
”Despite its name, The Curse of Entanglement isn’t actually a curse,” Jiayi said, not unkindly.
”Oh,” Wei Wuxian said, deflating. ”Lan Zhan, I’m so sorry.” He reached out to grip Hanguang-jun’s hand in his, as if Sect Leader Lan’s condition was somehow his fault.
”Wei Ying,” Hanguang-jun said quietly, bowing his head.
Jiayi gave Hanguang-jun’s mate a long, considering look. She remembered him from the lessons from almost twenty years back, a bright, shining omega who was like a quicksilver spirit, always moving, always inventing, always pushing the young Hanguang-jun. She remembered how flustered the young alpha had been in the lessons she’d given him—in private because he asked and, frankly, Jiayi had always had a soft spot for their Second Young Master. She’d been so sure they would end up together so when the news of a demonic cultivator had started to circulate and she’d learned just who said demonic cultivator was…well. If she’d been asked back then which one of the Twin Jades would succumb to The Curse of Entanglement, her answer would’ve been Hanguang-jun.
Instead, Hanguang-jun had overcome his punishment, raised a brilliant young alpha as his heir, and finally reunited with his intended.
Instead, it was the steadfast and calm Zewu-jun who was now burning up with a fever that didn’t respond to any medication or calming music, delirious and screaming his voice hoarse in restrains, on the verge of qi-deviation.
”However…” she said slowly.
Wei Wuxian perked up immediately, looking at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
”There might be something you can do,” she said looking at him dead in the eyes. ”You have a similar build and the same designation, and you are a talisman master.”
She saw when the realization hit. ”Oh,” Wei Wuxian breathed. ”Hm.”
Qiren drew a shocked breath at the same time as Hanguang-jun let out a raw, pleading, ”Wei Ying, no!”
Wei Wuxian turned to face his mate and raised a hand to his cheek. ”Lan Zhan, he’s your brother,” he said softly. ”If I can help him—”
”Wei Ying, you’re mine.” It was evident his words were something more profound than a mere declaration of possession, said with helpless desperation as Hanguang-jun’s hand clenched on Wei Wuxian’s robes and his whole frame trembled.
”Lan Zhan, you silly alpha, I’ve always been yours, even when I didn’t know it yet,” Wei Wuxian murmured.
The smile on his face was so heartbreakingly tender that Jiayi turned away and, from the corner of her eye, saw Qiren do the same. She caught his eye and with a nod, they discreetly left her office, leaving Hanguang-jun and his mate in an embrace, whispering to each other.
The air outside was cool, a promise of winter in the wind, and she closed her eyes and just breathed for a moment.
”Do you really think it could work?” Qiren asked in a low voice. She opened her eyes and glanced at him, staring across the yard with a frown, gripping the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white. ”The last time…”
The last time we didn’t have a brilliant talisman master well versed in illusions, a former omega currently in a beta’s body, she thought. ”If anyone can figure this out, it’s him,” she finally sighed.
Qiren scoffed. ”Wei Wuxian…” he muttered. ”Well, no one can blame him for not being the embodiment of his childhood sect’s motto.”
Attempt the impossible.
Jiayi nodded. ”Indeed.”
Wei Wuxian’s brilliance was a thing of terrible beauty to witness. He dove into the illusion talismans with single-minded ferociousness, driven by both curiosity and the knowledge that Sect Leader Lan was rapidly running out of time. Jiayi left him to work while she prepared a separate room for what was to come, a bed with soft blankets and pillows, a batch of sedatives, powerful privacy talismans, and tea. She was going to monitor Sect Leader Lan herself, both as the Head Healer and because she tried to protect the privacy of everyone involved. Both Qiren and Hanguang-jun had volunteered to stand by with their guqins but Jiayi decided that Qiren would be enough. The only thing Hanguang-jun would need to do was to take care of his mate after he was done.
”Well, I’m as ready as I can be!” Wei Wuxian declared sooner than Jiayi would’ve expected. ”I have the illusion talisman which I’ll paint straight on my skin, I have the scent talisman, the…uh, prepping talisman, and several cleaning talismans.”
He sounded way too cheerful for the situation but Jiayi wasn’t going to do him the disservice of questioning his expertise. ”Then we should begin,” she said, nodding at Qiren and Hanguang-jun. They’d decided it would be best for the young alpha to leave the room before Wei Wuxian applied the talisman, due to the painful memories he had from the Guanyin Temple, no matter how reluctant he was to step away from his mate’s side.
The transformation was disturbing to observe. In one moment, Wei Wuxian stood in the middle of the room in a thin under robe looking just like himself, painting a talisman on his chest. In the next moment, in his place was Jin Guangyao, cocking his head in a way he never did in life.
”Does it look believable?” Wei Wuxian asked, turning around.
”Unnervingly so,” Jiayi said.
”Great,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile that looked just plain wrong on the late Chief Cultivator’s face. ”Then I guess we should just…get on with it.”
What followed was a display Jiayi wished she could scrub from her memory. Wei Wuxian imitated Jin Guangyao’s mannerisms to draw Sect Leader Lan’s delirious attention to himself, released him from the restraints, and gave himself over to increasingly feverish administrations. Jiayi gritted her jaw behind the privacy screen and breathed hollowly through her mouth to keep out the sickening scent of Entanglement, the sheer mad desperation it projected. She closed her eyes and didn’t bother holding back her tears as she listened to Sect Leader Lan—young Xichen—pant and sob A-Yao’s name as skin slapped against skin until the last, strangled, hoarse cry.
And then, nothing.
”I think he’s asleep,” Wei Wuxian said softly.
Jiayi let out an agreeing sound. She could already detect the slight change in Sect Leader Lan’s scent, turning from sickness to a regular rut. ”Are you Tied?”
”Yeah.”
”Would you mind if I came to inspect you?”
Wei Wuxian snorted. ”Head Healer Lan, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen and handled more knots in your life than I can ever even dream about—not that I’m interested in dreaming about any other but Lan Zhan’s knot.”
Despite herself, she grinned. ”You are correct in your assessment,” she said, walking briskly to the bed.
The talismans were still in effect—Wei Wuxian said they would wear off by noon the next day unless purposefully deactivated—so to Jiayi’s eyes, it seemed like the emaciated and worn Sect Leader Lan was clutching a nearly naked Jin Guangyao tightly against his chest, face buried in his neck. But despite his sickly looks, his temperature was coming down and while his meridians were frayed and would need time to heal, he no longer was on the brink of qi-deviation.
Thank the heavens.
”How are you feeling?” she asked Wei Wuxian, taking in his disheveled looks.
He shrugged slightly, careful not to dislodge Sect Leader Lan’s face from the crook of his neck. ”Fine? I’m—hm. Not uncomfortable but definitely weird. Lan Zhan tends to wear me out completely so I’m usually not really conscious by the time he knots…” His voice trailed away as a deep red flush rose on his face. ”Sorry. You don’t need to hear that.”
She gave him a flat look. ”Young man, if you think there is anything in your bedroom activities that would shock me, you would be wrong. I’ve seen and heard it all,” she said dryly. ”As long as you are content and happy, it’s no concern of mine what you do in the privacy of your home.” She raised a brow slightly.
”Ah…” Wei Wuxian let out a sheepish chuckle. ”Anyway, what do you need me to do?” he asked motioning at the sleeping Sect Leader Lan.
Jiayi let out a long breath. ”For now, rest. He might need another round to be perfectly on the clear but after that, you are free to go. Would you like to eat or drink something while we wait?”
After another round of knotting and almost two days of sedated sleep, Sect Leader Lan finally woke up. He was groggy and disoriented but no longer delirious which was a win.
”What happened?” he asked in a hoarse whisper, taking in the room and Lan Jiayi. ”This isn’t the Hanshi.”
”No, it isn’t,” Jiayi said. ”Can you sit up?”
A disciple helped him to lean against pillows so that he could slowly drink a cup of water and another cup of medicinal tea, an act that left him panting and leaning against the pillows, grey with exhaustion.
”Tell me.”
”You fell under The Curse of Entanglement,” she said bluntly. ”Luckily, you were found in time.”
”There is no coming back from that,” Sect Leader Lan said slowly.
”Not usually, no.” She kept looking at him as he closed his eyes and ducked his head, this young man she’d watched grow up into a kind and gentle leader, thrust into a world that took that kindness and twisted it until he was a shell of his former self. She didn’t say a word when tears started streaming down his cheeks, merely took his hand in hers and held on tight.
Some time later, the disciple returned, showing Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian in before whispering to Jiayi that they’d left a message to Qiren who would return later in the evening to assess if the calming songs would still be needed. She nodded, distracted, as her attention was on the way Sect Leader Lan had turned deathly pale.
”Wangji—!” he whispered looking first at his brother and then at Wei Wuxian. ”I—” Then he scrambled up and, before any of them realized what he was about to do, threw himself on the ground, kowtowing in front of alarmed Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian.
”—Brother!—”
”—Zewu-jun!—”
”What do you think you’re doing, young man?” Jiayi snapped. ”You’re still recovering, get up from the floor and back to bed. Now!”
After Sect Leader Lan was safely back in his bed and tucked under covers, Jiayi gave all three young men a hard look. ”I’m stepping out to make tea while you talk. If you have questions when I come back, I will provide answers to the best of my abilities.” With that, she turned and walked out, shaking her head and grumbling under her breath. Lan alphas…
She returned way past the time it would take to brew tea several times over, and stopped by the door. Eavesdropping was against the rules but she was too old and tired to care and also, she had a patient to monitor. Whatever she heard now could be of significant importance later. She carefully peeked through the crack in the door to see Sect Leader Lan sitting on his bed, Hanguang-jun next to him and Wei Wuxian sitting in front of him. He was leaning on his brother’s shoulder, head bowed, holding onto Wei Wuxian’s hands like a drowning man.
”—look you in the eye after what I did to you?” Sect Leader Lan asked in a broken voice.
Wei Wuxian huffed softly. ”Xichen-ge, I told you. You needed help. I wanted to help. There’s no need for apologies between us.”
”But—”
”Brother,” Hanguang-jun interrupted. ”Stop.”
”You loved him a lot, didn’t you,” Wei Wuxian said with such compassion that it stabbed right through Jiayi’s heart.
Sect Leader Lan’s breath hitched and his face twisted like he was in pain. ”I miss him,” he whispered, so low that Jiayi was barely able to hear him. ”I know I shouldn’t but I miss him.”
Jiayi swallowed and backed away from the door, glancing at the teapot in her hand.
This tea was probably over-steeped.
She might as well make a new one.