The first time Wei Wuxian saw Luo Qingyang and Wen Qing kiss, he blinked, and for a moment, a terribly vulnerable look flashed on his face. Then it was gone and Luo Qingyang saw his usual, mischievous grin.
”Ohh, I see how it is! I found you and I brought you here and now you’ve already abandoned me!” He cried, pressing a hand on his chest, and moaned. ”The betrayal!”
”Abandoned?” Luo Qingyang scoffed. ”You wish. Now that Wen Qing doesn’t have to herd you for her every waking moment, perhaps she’ll get something else done for a change.”
”You are mean!”
”If by ’mean’ you mean a level-headed, functioning adult, then yes.”
Wen Qing coughed. ”Level-headed?” She asked, amused.
”Oh, don’t you start,” Luo Qingyang huffed and kissed her again.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Wei Wuxian’s grin turn brittle and then he ducked his head and returned to his cave.
Hm.
It wasn’t like Wei Wuxian didn’t approve of their relationship—not that it would’ve even mattered if he did because fuck that—but it looked like it hurt him. Luo Qingyang didn’t know why and it annoyed her.
For some reason she didn’t want to examine more closely, she’d learned to care about Wei Wuxian. She didn’t like to see him hurt which meant that she had to figure out what was wrong. Turned out, it was way easier than she’d imagined.
”He’s pining,” Wen Qing said dryly as she combed Luo Qingyang’s hair before bed. ”He’d never admit it but he is.”
”Really? For who—oh, never mind. It’s Hanguang-jun, isn’t it?”
”Mn.”
”I don’t get it,” Luo Qingyang said as she turned sideways to look at Wen Qing. When she raised an incredulous brow, Luo Qingyang rolled her eyes. ”I don’t mean it like that. I might not be into men but I appreciate the aesthetics. And Hanguang-jun’s aesthetics are fine indeed.” They shared a look. ”But I don’t get it why he’s pining. He must know how Hanguang-jun feels about him?”
Wen Qing winced. ”It’s…complicated,” she said.
”You’ve got to be kidding me,” Luo Qingyang said flatly. ”How can it be complicated?” When Wen Qing said nothing, she sighed. ”There’s something else, isn’t there?”
”Even if there was, I couldn’t tell you,” Wen Qing said softly and then turned her so that she could continue with her hair.
Luo Qingyang huffed. Fine. She’d figure it out herself.
She didn’t figure it out and it was annoying.
Wei Wuxian was handsome, funny, extremely intelligent, extremely powerful, brilliant cultivator. So why the fuck was he pining after Hanguang-jun when he could be fucking him instead? Or get fucked, whatever, Luo Qingyang didn’t really care about the logistics. Sure, he seemed to have a deeply-ingrained belief that he needed to accomplish things to be valuable but she was pretty damn sure Hanguang-jun would still want to pin him to the ground (or against a tree or like, any sturdy element) even if he never invented another thing again.
So…was it because of his choice of cultivation method? Was it truly so important to Wei Wuxian that he’d rather stay on the ghostly path than have his Hanguang-jun?
Why?
Luo Qingyang was lounging in their bed and carding her fingers through Wen Qing’s hair when she saw a flash of white and heard a low hum.
”What the fuck was that?” She murmured.
Wen Qing let out a questioning sound and lifted her head slightly. She was half asleep and so cute Luo Qingyang just had to kiss her. So she did.
A moment later, she remembered what she’d said and clarified, ”There was a flash of white and a hum?”
”Oh,” Wen Qing said and sighed. ”Well, I better go to round up our resident demonic cultivator.”
”Um, why?”
”Lan Wangji is here,” Wen Qing said as she got up and fixed her hair into a simple bun. ”Apart from us, he’s the only one who has a free pass through the barrier.”
”Oh,” Luo Qingyang said. She straightened her robes and grabbed her sword before pressing a quick kiss on Wen Qing’s cheek. ”I’ll head out to wait for him.”
If Hanguang-jun was surprised to see her when he emerged from the shade of the trees, he didn’t show it. He stopped and inclined his head, and Luo Qingyang bowed.
”Luo-guniang,” Hanguang-jun said. ”Have you been well?”
”I have, thank you,” she replied. ”And Hanguang-jun?”
”Mn,” he said.
And then he promptly forgot about her because Wei Wuxian emerged from his cave, robes in disarray and his hair half undone. ”Lan Zhan!” He exclaimed so loud that Luo Qingyang winced.
And Hanguang-jun—
Hanguang-jun smiled.
What the fuck?
”So, it’s not just lust,” she said, watching Hanguang-jun sitting at the table, stoic and calm while A-Yuan fiddled with the tail of his forehead ribbon and Wei Wuxian flitted around them like a hyperactive magpie. Hanguang-jun’s eyes never left Wei Wuxian and his lips were still drawn to that barely-there smile. It was creepy (no, it was cute).
”Nope,” Wen Qing said.
Luo Qingyang wanted to march to Wei Wuxian and shake him until he saw reason. Why was he pining for a man who clearly loved him? Why didn’t they just fall into each other’s arms and kiss each other senseless? Why were they being purposefully stupid? ”Men,” she sighed.
”Mn,” Wen Qing said.
”Do you think it would work if we, I don’t know, sealed them in the cave together and refused to let them out before they talked it through?”
Wen Qing cocked her head, considering. ”I don’t know…Wei Wuxian would probably just blow his way out while Lan Wangji shielded him from falling debris and insects and whatnot.”
”What if we just pointed it out? And used really small, simple words?”
”If you wanted Wei Wuxian to run to the hills, then be my guest,” Wen Qing said dryly.
”It can’t be that bad,” Luo Qingyang said doubtfully.
They watched as Wei Wuxian tripped over his own feet and Hanguang-jun caught him like a swooning maiden, and then they stared at each other for so long that Luo Qingyang wanted to scream, ’NOW KISS!’ And then Wei Wuxian drew back, let out a strangled, overly bright and totally fake laugh, and ran.
”Awfuck, it really is that bad,” Luo Qingyang said.
”Mn.”
It came to an end—sort of—a couple of days later when Wen Ning ran back to the settlement in the middle of the night with a bloody and unconscious Wei Wuxian in his arms, shouting for his jiejie.
Luo Qingyang was out of the bed with her sword in her hand before she was even properly awake, and then she hurried after Wen Qing with only her nightgown on.
”Table!” Wen Qing snapped and Wen Ning complied, settling Wei Wuxian’s limp body oh-so-gently on the table in Wen Qing’s study.
Luo Qingyang had wondered why Wen Qing had a separate study with that massive table that was usually almost empty but, well, now she knew. She wished she didn’t.
”Tell me what to do,” she said crisply.
”Water,” Wen Qing said without looking at her.
She nodded and rushed out to the well to get a bucket of fresh water, hurried back in, and poured the water into a basin before purifying it with a talisman for good measure.
There was so much blood but she knew it was alright. Wei Wuxian was a strong cultivator, his core would take care of it.
”Wei Ying?” Hanguang-jun’s shocked voice said from the doorway. ”What happened?”
”He was with me on the other side of the mountain,” Wen Ning said. He was carefully holding Wei Wuxian on his side while Wen Qing cleaned up the deep, sluggishly bleeding gash on the back of his head. ”He tripped and fell. I didn’t—I didn’t make it in time to catch him.”
”It was not your fault, A-Ning,” Wen Qing said. Then she held out a hand and said, ”Needles, side table.”
Luo Qingyang snatched her needle kit from the side table, opened it, and held it out to her. ”Head traumas are always unpleasant because they bleed so much,” she murmured.
Wen Qing injected a couple of needles, frowned, and cocked her head before she continued cleaning up the wound. ”It’s not the bleeding,” she said almost absent-mindedly. ”It’s the swelling.”
”Yeah, but his core will take care of that,” Luo Qingyang said at the same time as Hanguang-jun said in a horrified voice, ”What happened to his core?”
Luo Qingyang’s eyes snapped to Hanguang-jun who was holding Wei Wuxian’s limp wrist in his hand and looking like he was about to faint.
Wen Qing paused, glanced at Hanguang-jun, looked at Wen Ning, and then back at Wei Wuxian. ”He doesn’t have it anymore.”
”How—what—?” Hanguang-jun whispered.
Wen Qing sighed. ”That’s his story to tell. For now, we four are the only people who know. Let’s keep it that way.” She finished cleaning up the wound, dressed it, and then removed the needles only to replace them on top of Wei Wuxian’s head. After drying the table and setting a clean towel for a pillow, she looked at Wen Ning, nodded, and together, they gently turned Wei Wuxian on his back.
He was still deathly pale but he didn’t seem to be in pain.
”Lan Wangji,” Wen Qing said. When Hanguang-jun didn’t react but only stared at Wei Wuxian’s face, she snapped her fingers in front of his face and said, sharper, ”Lan Wangji!”
”Apologies,” Hanguang-jun said hoarsely.
”No need. I assume you’ll stay with him?” Hanguang-jun nodded and Wen Qing nodded back. ”He needs to stay still. Keep feeding him a very low amount of spiritual power, it’ll help to ease his pain and help with reducing the swelling in his head.”
He swallowed and gently turned Wei Wuxian’s arm so that it was against his chest, and Hanguang-jun’s hand was over his heart. The thin, blue string of spiritual energy never stopped flowing.
”Wen Ning will stay behind and get me when he wakes up. You don’t have to leave his side,” Wen Qing said softly.
”Thank you,” Hanguang-jun whispered.
Wen Qing inclined her head to Luo Qingyang and together, they left her office. As she closed the door behind her, she heard Wen Ning say, ”I will clean up, Lan-gongzi, and then I’ll step outside so that you can be alone with him.”
She didn’t hear what Hanguang-jun answered but if he did, it was most likely his usual, ”Mn.”
Wei Wuxian woke up the next day, groggy, with a headache, and absolutely terrified when he realized Hanguang-jun knew about his core. Too bad Hanguang-jun had Wen Qing’s explicit orders to keep Wei Wuxian still, so he put him under a body-lock spell and then stayed silent and let Wen Qing yell at him.
And when Wen Qing was done, Luo Qingyang yelled at him a bit more.
Wei Wuxian gaped at them for a moment and then turned his wide eyes at Hanguang-jun. ”So, are you going to yell at me too?” He joked weakly.
”Hm,” Hanguang-jun said. Then he bent over, cupped Wei Wuxian’s cheek, and kissed him. When he finally raised his head a bit to let Wei Wuxian breathe, his cheeks were bright red and his eyes wider than Luo Qingyang had ever seen.
”What?” Wei Wuxian squealed.
”Not going to yell,” Hanguang-jun said and kissed Wei Wuxian again. This time with tongue.
Luo Qingyang was glad but she also didn’t want to be there and if the looks on Wen Qing and Wen Ning’s faces were anything to go by, neither did they.
”No sex of any kind,” Wen Qing said and silenced Wei Wuxian’s spluttering with a raised brow. ”And just to clarify, that includes each and every act you can imagine now and will come up in the future, and yes it counts if you let Lan Wangji do all the work.”
Wei Wuxian’s face got, if possible, even redder and he let out a sound like a dying goose. ”Wen Qing—” he hissed but she ignored him.
”Any strenuous activity will raise his blood pressure and elevate the pressure in his brain. And since his brain is quite useful, I don’t want to risk it.” She inclined her head at Hanguang-jun. ”And, I presume, neither do you.”
”I would not,” Hanguang-jun said, completely serious. ”Wei Ying’s mind is a thing of beauty.”
”If you say so,” Luo Qingyang muttered as Wei Wuxian let out an embarrassed whine.
”Also, when you do start, please use appropriate lubricant,” Wen Qing said.
Hanguang-jun choked on air, blinked several times, and nodded. The tips of his ears were bright red.
Luo Qingyang was quite proud that her…partner? Lover? Hm. Anyway, that her Wen Qing had managed to do that to the esteemed Hanguang-jun. She decided to reward her later.
So, thing was, Luo Qingyang was extremely happy that Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-jun had apparently now talked and declared their undying, epic love for each other. She was. She just hoped they’d tone it down a bit.
Not much.
Just a bit.
Because Hanguang-jun—or, Lan Wangji as she was supposed to call him now—carried Wei Wuxian everywhere, sat him on his lap, fed him with his fingers, and smiled with an utterly besotted look on his face that it made her a bit nauseous. And they weren’t even fucking yet! She knew this because, apparently, Lan Wangji took Wen Qing’s instructions extremely to the heart and refused to do anything more strenuous than kissing until she gave them the all-clear. Which she didn’t do because, according to Wei Wuxian, she enjoyed tormenting him.
In the meanwhile, Lan Wangji doted on him and didn’t let him out of his sight.
Which meant, naturally, that he was there to carry Wei Wuxian around the perimeter to check the wards and strengthen them when needed. With resentful energy. That he needed to use because he had no golden core anymore.
Lan Wangji pinched his lips in a tight line but didn’t object because he now understood why Wei Wuxian was using resentful energy. It wasn’t because he was cocky, it was because he had no choice. So, after they made their rounds, Lan Wangji lay Wei Wuxian on his bed (which was actually a stone altar, what the fuck, Wei Wuxian, why didn’t he have a normal bed like normal people? Luo Qingyang had to do something about that.) and played his guqin that helped to dispel the resentful energy.
Luo Qingyang was very happy to see it worked better than anything she’d so far seen.
”He’s doing better now that you’re here,” Wen Qing said.
Lan Wangji was helping them to repair yet another partially collapsed house. Funny how the work went faster when they had at least one capable adult to help out.
”I’m glad,” Lan Wangji said quietly. ”Is there anything more I could do?”
For a moment, Wen Qing said nothing, just looked at Lan Wangji. It was like she was trying to figure him out—a bit like she’d done back when Luo Qingyang had arrived. ”Why are you here, Hanguang-jun?” She finally asked.
Lan Wangji frowned slightly at the use of his title. ”I’m here because you reached out. And because I refuse to be parted from Wei Ying no longer.”
”Are you going to stay?”
”For as long as he’ll have me.”
Wen Qing paused and cocked her head. ”Your cultivation is extremely high, right?”
Lan Wangji nodded.
”Dual cultivation is a highly efficient way to dispel resentful energy,” she said.
Lan Wangji blinked and his lips parted slightly. ”What about—” he paused and cleared his throat. ”What about his core? It was cut out, not melted. Could it be regrown?”
Luo Qingyang opened her mouth and then closed it. She really, really didn’t want to know why Wei Wuxian’s core had been cut out what the fuck, she’d thought it had been the Core-Melting Hand.
Wen Qing narrowed her eyes. ”Hm. I hadn’t thought about that but…you know what, it very well might.” She grinned and added, ”And yes, you have my medical approval to start.”
Lan Wangji stood still for a moment, eyes slightly glazed. Then he blinked, shook his head, and bowed. ”Excuse me,” he said and then walked away, taking so long strides that if it was someone else, Luo Qingyang might’ve said he was running.
”Well then,” Wen Qing said.
Lan Wangji took his new job as Wei Wuxian’s personal resentful energy repelling tool extremely seriously.
Wei Wuxian had never looked as happy and relaxed.
Wen Qing said there was no trace of resentful energy in his body.
Luo Qingyang wished for a privacy talisman that actually fucking worked.