Chapter Text
He remembers the rippling waters of the lake at Lotus Peer, where he once would dive into the waters and pluck the lotus seed pods and return them to Shijie so she could carve out the seeds and set them out for Jiang Cheng and himself.
He remembers Shijie's pork and lotus root soup she'd make for the two of them, the loving memories behind his favorite dish, the first time he ever had it, and the night that he and Jiang Cheng swore to help each other always.
He remembers the times he and his Shidi would play dead in the lake and scare the passing boats, pretending to be devilish water spirits. Only to be scolded harshly by Madam Yu later, and Wei Wuxian would quickly take the full blame to spare Jiang Cheng from his mother's wrath.
Something Jiang Cheng would later scold him for, but Wei Wuxian had always just laughed at his temperament.
He remembers playing with kites as a young child, seeing who could shoot their arrow the farthest and hit the target the best. Laughing when one of the younger sect disciples would fall into the water after trying to retrieve their kites. And Jiang Cheng scolded him harshly for being an idiot and shooting it so far, though he'd only ever laugh at the scolding.
He remembers the fire, and the horrible stench of death when he and Jiang Cheng had come back after escaping the Wens, hearing the horrible talk of Jiang Fengmian's and Madam Yu's deaths. Only to have to run away again to avoid being captured themselves, despite Jiang Cheng's relentless efforts to fight against him.
And he remembers the relief he felt when he finally returned after killing Wen Chao when they had the Wens on the run, and the Lotus Peer rebuilt after its decimation, finding his Shijie alive and well, Jiang Cheng the new sect leader and having rebuilt their home.
Yet, none of those memories mattered to him at the moment.
Because how could he turn his back from such cruelty happening before his very eyes?
Wen Qing had come for him that very morning, begging for his help because Wen Ning had been captured and taken away by Jin Zixun, it hadn't taken him long to force the information out of the man and Jin Guangshan.
But when he had gotten there, he couldn't feel anything other than anger and disgust. Elderly men and women, mothers, and children.
They were all being carted as no less than slaves by the Jin clan, shamed, and abused. Forced to carve off the engravings of their own clan's history which had once marked the walls of the valley road.
He had interrogated the guards there, only to be lied to. They claimed to have never once killed anyone, that Wen Ning must have been there.
He could not turn his back on such cruelty.
Without a second thought, he pulled Chenqing from his side, playing a sharp and angry tune that awoken those who had died and been buried to cover the guards' abuse.
Including Wen Ning.
He ignored the shouts from the Jin clan as he allowed Wen Ning and his fellow corpses to take their revenge on the guards who had killed them, before he swiftly freed the fifty or so remnants of the Wen clan, and led them into the Burial Mounds of Yiling, offering them his protection.
And Wei Wuxian didn't feel a single bit of remorse for the lives he took that night.
Though, that was not the only reason he felt no remorse.
Children, mothers, and the elderly, only about 50 or so altogether. They were being treated so cruelly. Despite never having set foot on the battlefield during the Sunshot Campaign. How could anyone turn their back on them?
He forced himself to ignore the nausea at the very idea that the other sect leaders knew of this cruelty, at the very thought that Jiang Cheng knew about this.
Or if Lan Wangji had known.
He forced himself to forget the thoughts as he led the 50 or so Wens into the Burial Mounds, along with the now-reanimated corpse of Wen Ning.
The kind young boy he met that day at the discussion conference at Qishan, the one too shy to even draw his bow correctly and hit the target dead on, despite the skill Wei Wuxian had seen of him earlier that day.
The boy that had saved him and Jiang Cheng, he and his sister both risked their lives for him. When they had no reason to.
He didn't sleep that night, or the next. Or the many after.
No, he just couldn't bring himself to close his eyes, he wanted to bring back Wen Ning fully, he wanted to apologize to all of the Wens that had begun to try and start a camp in the dark forest of the Burial Mounds, to apologize for the cruelty he had once believed every Wen dog deserved.
But most importantly, he wanted to understand why the little boy he had seen Granny Wen shield could make his heart ache so painfully, why he wanted to reach out to the child and scent him. Unveil his ears and tails and reassure him.
Wei Wuxian knew that there came a certain territory to being an Omega, especially a Huli Jing, such territory he had only truly cared to learn about through his Shijie, seeing as she was an Omega herself, though it had been a territory that he never bothered himself much with to truly care about, despite Jiang Yanli's protests, but truly it couldn't be this strong.
He had met plenty of children before, and while he loved to play with them, or watch them play, he had never felt something so fiercely instinctual as this. He had teased many children out of their crying fits when they had been injured or scared, he'd teased them long enough to where they either turned their focus on being annoyed at him or just laughed merrily at his antics.
But this felt different, he chose to just blame the situation. Though he just couldn't ignore such fierce instincts.
He'd deal with it later.
At the moment, he still had to be sure that the ones he had taken under his protection would be safe.
Jiang Cheng had come a few days later, cursing and yelling at Wei Wuxian furiously, the infamous sect leader threatening him that he could not protect Wei Wuxian if he insisted on protecting those with the surname Wen. Ignoring Wei Wuxian's angry protests, Wei Wuxian reminded him that they owed Wen Ning and Wen Qing a debt for risking their lives for them.
Though Jiang Cheng only told him to not meddle in the affairs of others, that their problems were not his own to worry about.
In the end, he left the Jiang clan.
They dueled, he broke Jiang Cheng's arm, the sect leader stabbed him and they went their separate ways, he was completely forsaken by the Jiang clan.
He left his home and the only family he had ever known.
But he had helped Wen Qing get her brother back, he would soon help her reawaken his consciousness, he had taken innocent lives into his protection, and decidedly, he chose that was enough.
Though...
He couldn't deny the sense of loneliness he felt.
"Xian-gege..." A soft voice called for him just outside of the cave where he had been trying to correct one of his talismans, only to turn his head to find Wen Yuan, the name of the little boy that had taken control of a fair share of his instincts and thoughts as of late, biting and sucking on his finger anxiously.
"A-Yuan, did you come here to try and scare your gege? And don't bite your finger! You were playing in the dirt!" Wei Wuxian teased light-heartedly, ultimately deciding internally that he only enjoyed seeing A-Yuan either adorably pouty whenever he would tease him or smiling with a childish gleam that lightened the heavy weight on the demonic cultivator's heart.
"No... Granny told me I should talk to you about this..." A-Yuan muttered, shuffling forward awkwardly, something that normally would have made Wei Wuxian laugh if not for his three tails that he chose to regularly keep out began to twitch anxiously.
He was beginning to regret declining his Shi-. Jiang Yanli's offer for further extensive lessons when it came to instincts, he'd likely experience as an Omega.
"What do you need to talk about little radish?" Wei Wuxian smiled, hoping to make the child smile, just so his tails would stop twitching and swaying around in his poorly hidden anxious state.
He'd just blame the lack of sleep if he was asked about it.
"Granny told me that I'm like you, so maybe you could help..." Though before Wei Wuxian could even begin to question what that meant.
Two very soft appearing ears appeared upon the little boy's head, fluffy downy fur sticking out at all sides in a scraggly appearance, clearly not having been groomed properly in a while. Not that he could judge, he was sure his hair looked like a rat's nest. And three tiny fluffy fox tails appeared from A-Yuan's backside as well.
Three.
Three tails were the minimum a Huli Jing could have, it was the number that all Huli Jing were born with, only to receive the rest of their nine tails as they aged, the more appeared the stronger their golden core and their cultivation became.
They were not regular fox spirits, unlike some people, who attained the form of a fox, they were not Huli Jing. They were not from the heavenly bloodline, only to have been known to appear from the celestial mountain where the infamous Baoshan Sanren resided.
He had never once met another Huli Jing.
And yet, there stood before him, the small child that had captured his thoughts for the past few sleepless nights.
He was a Huli Jing.
How? Wei Wuxian had no clue.
He only ever heard of two Huli Jing coming down from the Celestial Mountain. Yanling Daoren and his mother, Cangse Saren.
"A-Yuan, come here." Wei Wuxian called gently, his voice softer than normal, his mind still left in an intense wave of shock. But the instincts that he had been so confused by for the past few weeks compelled him to bring the child closer to himself.
A-Yuan did not hesitate to come forward, quickly sitting at the demonic cultivator's side, while Wei Wuxian allowed his heart to take the lead as he began to groom the downy and unmanaged fur around and on the boy's ears.
Though his mind ran wild from his curiosity, he remembered Wen Qing telling him that A-Yuan was some distant family member, most likely a great-something grandnephew of someone from the main branch of the Wen family.
So, how was he a Huli Jing? Everyone from the main QishanWen family bloodline was a descendant of the heavenly creature, the Zhūquè the heavenly vermillion bird. They were said to rise with the summer season and the sun.
Just as everyone from the main YunmengJiang sect family bloodline was a descendant of the heavenly creature, the Baihu, the heavenly White Tiger. Said to hold the power over armies and influence the tides of any battle they were a part of.
Something Wei Wuxian didn't doubt in the least.
Everyone from the GusuLan sect bloodline was a descendant of the heavenly creature, the Lung, the heavenly dragons. Ginormous beasts that were said to have a body similar to that of a serpent with four powerful legs. Said to have the power of influence over water, rainfall, and typhoons.
Wei Wuxian could admit that he was personally thankful to never have seen a true dragon form, nor the full power they were said to wield. Especially not when he would be on the wrong side of such power.
Perhaps the three thousand rules at the Cloud Recess were slightly necessary. Though he still believed they were a bit excessive.
The LanlingJin bloodline, the Pixiu, the heavenly winged lions that were said to hold the good fortune of wealth, though Wei Wuxian would only address them as peacocks.
The QingheNie bloodline, the Xiezhi, the heavenly one-horned beast that was said to resemble an ox with thick dark fur, was also known to kill anyone they deemed corrupt by spearing them through with their horn.
And the Huli Jing. The nine-tailed heavenly fox. Not much was known about the nine-tailed fox, most everything Wei Wuxian knew was due to the trial and error of his upbringing and the few things Jiang Fengman knew from knowing his mother.
Some said that Huli Jings were promising omens that guaranteed the fertility of the land. Mainly due to the knowledge that Huli Jings were the very few heavenly creatures that could mate with other heavenly creatures and guarantee pure-blooded offspring.
But others called them dark omens, creatures that signaled the call of disease and misfortune. Though as of late, many people have been speculating that they were also the omen of death and demonic cultivation.
Something Wei Wuxian could admit was primarily his fault as of the recent rumors he’s heard.
Though what he couldn't wrap his head around was how. How could this little boy be a Huli Jing? He knew that there were only two even somewhat probable distant family members the boy could have that could explain all of this.
But he also knew that his mother had no other children than him. So that was out of the question.
So, that only left Yanling Daoren.
Wei Wuxian couldn't accurately recall when it was said that the cultivator had descended from the heavenly mountain, but he knew that he had been well respected for some time until he mysteriously went mad and turned against everyone and anyone.
Though there had never been word that he had any children of his own, and if he had, how had Wei Wuxian never heard of them or ever met them? Surely, they heard of Cangse Sanren leaving the mountain, and hoped to meet their Martial Aunt? Or at the very least gone to meet the only other Huli Jing they could have possibly ever heard of?
But aside from the puzzling questions that ran mad within his mind, he knew this also meant that a descendant of Yinling Daoren had married a Wen and had Wen Yuan. Though the fact that Wen Yuan was clearly a Huli Jing, it meant that whoever the descendant married, was human.
And how on earth a human had come to be even somewhat remotely related to the main Wen family bloodline was completely beyond him.
Though just as Wei Wuxian decided that he had thought long enough about all of this, one final thought came to his mind.
Why had Wen Yuan been hiding his form? And how could a child even learn to hide their form so well?
He knew that personally, he had a terrible time trying to hide his natural form when he was a child, Madam Yu always got onto him for constantly having his ears a tail out at "inappropriate" times.
And that had been when he was a least a bit older than Wen Yuan, so how could a literal toddler learn to hide his natural form so giftedly?
"A-Yuan, why did you hide your natural form? Did it ever hurt?" Wei Wuxian questioned, smoothing outside the last bit of scraggly downy fur.
"Granny told me that it was safer for A-Yuan. Or they'd take me away too." The child mumbled, twiddling his hands together while Wei Wuxian froze at the statement.
He didn't need to ask anything else to understand who else it could've been, that had been taken away.
And he refused to ask a child about such things, it was likely Wen Yuan didn't even remember his parents, he was even younger than Wei Wuxian had been when he lost his parents.
It would be cruel to try and make the poor child remember.
"I understand A-Yuan, I had to do that too for a while when I was young." Wei Wuxian murmured brushing out the wrinkles on Wen Yuan's robes to keep busy and his thoughts silent.
"Why did Xian-gege have to hide his ears and tails?" A-Yuan questioned, looking up at the demonic cultivator with innocent curiosity, something Wei Wuxian much preferred over the anxious reluctant expression the boy had been wearing before.
Wei Wuxian laughed at the memories the question brought forth, memories of Madam Yu constantly nagging at him for being 'indecent' during times when it was inappropriate for him to keep his ears and tails out, despite her family and herself all bearing their half-shifted natural states.
"You could say that I was a bit of a troublemaker back then, so I was constantly being scolded for something little radish, and when there was nothing to scold me for, they had to find something to get onto me for!" Wei Wuxian laughed, playfully wagging his tails in front of Wen Yuan's face, tickling the boy's nose as he laughed, reaching forward to grab the tails that were much thicker than his own and hug them to his chest.
The older Huli Jing laughed at the boy as he practically buried himself in his tails, immediately taking the opportunity to attack the child's sides, tickling him mercilessly as Wen Yuan squealed. "So, you think yourself big enough to try and attack Xian-gege's tails! Then let's see how you defend yourself little radish!" Wei Wuxian teased, reveling in the gasps and squeals he pulled from the child's mouth.
"Xian-gege! Xian-gege!" Wen Yuan called, pleading for mercy. Wei Wuxian only laughed as he ceased his attack, hugging the boy close while the child giggled and caught his breath.
"I'll have to bury to make you grow little radish! Maybe then you'll be big enough to catch at least one of my tails." Wei Wuxian teased while Wen Yuan grumbled indignantly for a moment as he righted himself, only to crawl into the older Huli Jing's lap, cuddling closer to him while Wei Wuxian couldn't hold back the smile that broke across his face.
Maybe he wouldn't be as lonely as he thought.
"Wen Qing, can I ask you something?" Wei Wuxian questioned as he walked towards the woman, who was currently trying to plant the few good sprouts that he had been able to get from the market, being unable to leave the Burial Mounds long enough to actually go to a decent market.
Not that it would matter if he could, he was kinda broke.
"If this is about the half-witted idea to use demonic cultivation on the radishes, I will beat you. It's already bad enough that you bought potato seeds when I told you not to!" Wen Qing threatened, the Alpha's feathers along her arms puffing out irritably, though the man only chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck.
"No, though I still think it would work! It's actually about A-Yuan, I wanted to know if you knew anything else about him." Wen Qing's brow raised at the statement, dusting off her hands as she stood to face the Omega.
"All right, what is it you to know exactly?" Wen Qing questioned, though when Wei Wuxian's tails swayed noticeably behind him, the man gesturing to them slightly. The woman only nodded as she understood his confusion.
"I was never close with A-Yuan's parents, I truly only saw them in passing, since his mother was a distant paternal cousin. I only heard that it had been his father who was taken away because he was a Huli Jing, no one knew why they took him, or what they did to him. But his mother was a cultivator, and she had fought in the Sunshot Campaign." Wen Qing explained, though Wei Wuxian immediately felt a twinge of guilt at the mention of Wen Yuan's mother.
There was more than likely a chance that her end could have been his doing, or at the very least, he had used her corpse to take the lives of the people of her clan.
"That explains why Granny told him to keep his tails and ears hidden." Wei Wuxian mumbled, Wen Qing merely nodding as she crossed her arms over his chest.
"She mourned heavily at the loss of her daughter and her son-in-law, so I know that she didn't want anything to happen to him. From what I know, she wasn't a cultivator herself, but her daughter and A-Yuan's father were. Though he had been taken near the end of the war after A-Yuan's mother had been reported dead."
"But I'm guessing she wasn't sure how to care for a Huli Jing, hence why she sent him my way?" Wei Wuxian questioned while Wen Qing nodded slightly.
"I'm not sure, I would imagine she knows at least a little bit since she was close to his father. Though I'm sure she had the best intentions." Wen Qing stated, the demonic cultivator nodding, having no doubts that Granny Wen had only the best intentions by telling Wen Yuan to go to him.
Not that it truly mattered all that much to him, he was honestly elated to have Wen Yuan more to himself now! The little boy happily came to him for any questions he may have about himself, such as when he'd get all nine tails like Wei Wuxian, or how to properly brush his ears without accidentally poking them.
"Wei Wuxian, I implore you to be careful about whatever you say to that boy, there's not much knowledge on Huli Jings, not to mention your an Omega, while A-Yuan will present fully as an Alpha in the next few years. There could be differences between you two that you don't know about." Wen Qing reminded, cutting off Wei Wuxian's delighted thoughts with the harsh wave of reality.
Not that Wei Wuxian disagreed whatsoever, over the past few days since Wen Yuan had come to him, the older Huli Jing had to constantly remind himself to think carefully about his answers, everything he knew about his own kind was from the little knowledge Jiang Fengmian had, and from his own experiences.
And seeing as he had nothing else to go off of, there was no telling if his own experiences were truly the right or even safest path that Wen Yuan should copy.
"Don't worry, this one knows to be careful, have some faith in me!" Wei Wuxian laughed, though the woman only shook her head at him and reached forward to swipe at his head, the demonic cultivator easily dodging the swipe.
"And why should I!? With your terrible drinking and spending habits?!" Wen Qing chided harshly, though Wei Wuxian only laughed at the Alpha's annoyance.
Many months passed thus. There were no further developments, apart from the worsening of Wei Wuxian's already bad reputation. Seeing as Wei Wuxian couldn't descend the mountain very often. He was the one who kept all the evil spirits on the Burial Mounds in check, so he could not go too far, nor leave for too long.
But he was also an active person, the sort who could never stay in one place for very long, which left him no choice but to make frequent runs to the nearby town in the name of procurement to allow himself the chance to wander around.
Though he'd take Wen Yuan just as often, the older Huli Jing always made the excuse that he didn't want his little radish to be stuck in the Burial Mounds for too long. He didn't believe a toddler should be trapped in a place like that, playing in the dirt where millions of corpses were buried underneath.
Though Wen Qing would always take such words as the opportunity to scold Wei Wuxian for occasionally burying Wen Yuan in the dirt like a radish.
Which Wei Wuxian always defended by clarifying that his A-Yuan needed to grow! And what better way than burying him like the little radish he is!
Wei Wuxian had visited the town countless times by now. He made his way to his usual vegetable stall and turned each vegetable this way and that, inspecting them. Suddenly, he raised one and exclaimed angrily, "This potato is sprouted!"
The vendor quickly went on guard, prepared to face off his new challenge. "Whaddya want?!"
"Make it cheaper!" Wei Wuxian fought with the vendor, Wen Yuan clung to the man's tails as he watched Wei Wuxian and the vendor walk back and forth as they both grabbed potatoes, haggling over the prices.
Wen Yuan did his best to hang onto the tails, though his arms grew sore and when he went to release the tails for a moment to allow his arms to rest, he was immediately swept away by the flowing crowd.
And no matter how hard he tried to find the Omega's long and fluffy tails to cling onto again, or his black boots and robes, he was only met with the muddy boots and trousers of humans who bustled past him unworried, seemingly blind to the small Huli Jing who was growing dizzy as he searched helplessly for Wei Wuxian.
Though the boy then stumbled into someone, pristine clean white robes came to meet his face before he looked up at the tall dragon whose belt was embroidered with rolling clouds, a jade pendant hanging from his belt, after that he saw a meticulously neat collar.
And finally, he came to meet the stern face of the stranger, his gaze was stern and somewhat cold, and the poor boy was seized with fright.
After all that nitpicking, Wei Wuxian decided not to buy any of the sprouted potatoes. He might wind up poisoned, and besides, the stall vendor had scoffed at the very idea of lowering his prices. "Aiya, this is a lesson to you, A-Yuan, some people--." Though when he turned to face the toddler, he was surprised to see that Wen Yuan was gone.
The color drained from his face; he rushed off to scour the streets in search of him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a young child bursting into tears and hurried over to see.
Not far away, nosy passersby had crowded into a circle to gawk at something. They were whispering to themselves and pointing. When Wei Wuxian finally managed to push through the crowd, his eyes lit up and he sighed heavily in relief.
Not without snickering slightly at the sight before him first though.
At the very center, surrounded by the crowd, was Lan Wangji. And he was standing frozen in place, it was a rare sight to see the great Hanguang-jun looking so helpless, not knowing what to do. Though Wei Wuxian almost fell over laughing.
A child was sitting on the ground, plopped right in front of Lan Wangji's feet, bawling. Tears and snot rolled freely down his face. Lan Wangji couldn't leave, couldn't stay, couldn't reach out to console the child, he was at a complete loss. His face was stern, as though he was seriously considering what to do.
"What's goin' on? That itty bitty bean is crying his poor heart out!" One passerby commented sympathetically, a soft coo to her voice at the pitiful sight.
Another passerby replied to the other's comment, "Probably got scolded by his father."
At the suggestion of Lan Wangji being Wen Yuan's 'father', Wei Wuxian sputtered as he tried to contain his laughter, continuing to hide amongst the crowd. Though Lan Wangji quickly looked up to deny the claim.
"I am not his father."
Poor Wen Yuan didn't understand what was going on, and he was scared, so he did as any child would in such a situation, cry for their parents. "Daddy! Mommy!!"
"Y'hear that! I told you he was his father," commented another passerby who boasted his statement pridefully.
"Their noses are cast from the same mold! It's a sure thing!"
"Oh, poor baby, where is your mama darling?" Another passerby cooed to the weeping child.
"Yeah, where's your wife? Cleary the father doesn't care much, so someone get the mother!"
Though poor Lan Wangji only continued to look between the child and the crowd hopelessly, completely blind to the best solution for this situation, and the growing noise was beginning to aggravate his sensitive hearing, as his frown deepened, and the tip of his long and thick scaled tail began to twitch.
Though as Wen Yuan continued to cry for his 'daddy' and 'mommy', Wei Wuxian's heart wouldn't allow him to find the situation all that humorous anymore, so he pretended to have just walked in on the situation as he stepped forward.
"Ah? Lan Zhan?"
Lan Wangji's head shot up, and the two locked eyes. For whatever reason, Wei Wuxian's eyes dodged away for a moment. Though the instant Wen Yuan heard the elder Huli Jing's voice, he immediately scampered to his feet and ran to the Omega, circling him before going to his three tails and clinging to the fluffy appendages anew, his own smaller, thinner tails tucking in between his legs.
The passersby were in an uproar.
"Oh! The mother, thank goodness!"
"Your poor baby! Don't worry, new parents always have some struggles! Don't blame his father too much!" One of the passersby commented sympathetically.
"Are we sure that's the mother?" Another questioned, receiving a few scoffs in return.
"Of course, he's the mother! Look at those two! They're cut from the same cloth!"
"Alright, alright! Move along, move along!" Wei Wuxian waved dismissively, purposefully ignoring the last few comments. Once the crowd saw the show was over, they all dispersed back to their own activities and lives.
Wei Wuxian then turned to smile at Lan Wangji, keeping himself from laughing at the way the dragon's tail tapped the ground impatiently, waiting for the very last of the crowd to disperse. "What a coincidence. What brings you here to Yiling, Lan Zhan?"
"A Night Hunt." Lan Zhan replied coolly, the tone of his voice was the same as always, with no shred of scorn or contempt or antagonism. Something that instantly made the Omega feel relieved.
"I was just passing through..."
And then Wei Wuxian heard his hesitant questions as he looked around the Huli Jing's tails at the child who only hesitantly looked up from them, dried tears still staining his face as he hid behind the fluffy tails.
"This child?"
And once again, Wei Wuxian's nature took over him as he grinned widely, reaching back to place a hand on Wen Yuan's head, flattening his right ear slightly, though he still petted the fur gently. "I birthed him." He responded with confidence.
Lan Wangji nearly reeled back at the comment, his expression hardly betraying the shock he felt, despite the way his brows twitched, and Wei Wuxian saw his nostrils flare slightly. A reaction he couldn't make much sense of, other than the fact he caught the esteemed dragon off guard.
So, a job well done regardless!
Laughing, he spoke once again to ease the Alpha's shock. "I'm joking. Wen Yuan just happens to resemble me. A rare gift honestly, but he's not mine!" Once again Wei Wuxian petted the boy's head, looking back at the sniffling toddler.
Wei Wuxian understood what he was going through. While Lan Wangji was good-looking, a child of A-Yuan’s age probably didn’t know what beauty was. He could only tell that this person, an older Alpha at that, wasn’t very nice and that he was cold and stern. He was scared of Lan Wangji’s expression, which was engraved with deep-seated bitterness. It simply couldn’t be helped.
The Omega hauled Wen Yuan up into his arms to playfully bounce him up and down and comfort him. Suddenly, he spotted a vendor selling a variety of goods on the side of the road. The man was still watching the three of them with a toothy grin.
The Huli Jing pointed at the trinkets in the vendor’s direction to catch the boy’s attention. “A-Yuan, look over there. Are they pretty?” Wei Wuxian questioned, grabbing the boy’s attention as he sniffled a final time and nodded.
“Do they smell nice?”
“Yes…” Wen Yuan answered softly, Wei Wuxian grinning now that the boy had finally stopped crying, though when the Omega went to walk in the opposite direction, Wen Yuan’s eyes filled with tears again.
Though when the dragon’s gaze met with the toddlers, the younger Alpha shivered and cowered into the older Huli Jing's shoulder. Seeing that the boy might cry again, Lan Wangji pointed at the trinkets. “Which one do you want?” At this, Wei Wuxian stopped and turned slightly to look at the dragon, Wen Yuan still staring at the man frightfully.
After waiting a few moments, Lan Wangji asked again. “Which one from here do you want?” Wen Yuan only stared at him in fear, holding his breath.
Half an incense time later, Wen Yuan had thankfully stopped crying and instead focused on his pocket that was bulging with the trinkets Lan Wangji had bought for him. Seeing that the toddler had seemed to stop crying, Lan Wangji sighed in relief, and then to his surprise, Wen Yuan shuffled over with blushing cheeks and clung to his leg.
When he looked down at his leg and saw the new addition, Lan Wangji was speechless at the sight, confused about how to react, only looking up when Wei Wuxian began to laugh at his poor expression.
“Congrats, Lan Zhan, he likes you! He only clings to the legs or tails of someone he likes. He’ll never let go now.” Sure enough, when the dragon took two steps forward, Wen Yuan was still firmly attached to his legs and showed no signs of letting go. The boy’s grip was surprisingly strong.
The Omega only patted his shoulder, smiling down at the smaller Huli Jing, whose tails were tucked at his side, allowing him to hold them and the Alpha’s leg. “Don’t bother rushing off to your Night Hunt so soon. How about we go grab a bite first?”
Lan Wangji looked at him, “A bite?” He parroted, sounding calm.
“Yeah, let’s go eat together. Don’t be so cold, you might scare A-Yuan again. Besides, it’ll be my treat!” And so, Wei Wuxian half dragged, half pulled the dragon into a restaurant, Wen Yuan still clung to his leg.
Wei Wuxian took a seat inside their private room. “Go ahead, order something.” He beckoned.
After being pushed down into a seat, Lan Wangji skimmed through the menu, then spoke, “You order.”
“It’s my treat, so you should be the one ordering. Get whatever you like!” Wei Wuxian replied, smiling. He hadn’t bought any of those potatoes, so he actually had enough money to pay. And since the dragon wasn’t the type to argue back and forth, he made his selection.
Though when Wei Wuxian heard him speak his selection so evenly, he laughed. “Ah! Lan Zhan, here I thought you Gusu folk didn’t eat spicy food. Your tastes are pretty spicy, do want a drink?” Lan Wangji only shook his head.
“As expected of Hanguang-jun; still sticking to the rules even when out and about, I won’t order a share for you then.” Wei Wuxian commented, chuckling to himself when he looked down at where Wen Yuan was seated at Lan Wangji’s feet, counting his newfound hoard of trinkets and toys fondly.
A little wooden knife, a wooden sword, a clay doll, two straw-woven butterflies, and other such toys were all lined up on a mat. The little boy attached himself to Lan Wangji, nuzzling him so relentlessly that it was difficult for Lan Wangji to even drink his tea.
Wei Wuxian whistled softly to the boy, his long tails flicking in front of the boy to catch his attention, “A-Yuan, come here.” Wen Yuan looked between the Omega and the Alpha for a moment, speculating. One had buried him in the dirt like a radish a few days ago, and the other had just bought him a hoard of toys.
To say the least, the toddler didn’t move an inch.
Scoffing playfully at the blatant, but silent answer, Wei Wuxian tired again. “Come over here, you’ll bother him.”
“It’s fine, let him stay.” Lan Wangji cut in.
Wei Wuxian only laughed as he shook his head, twirling his chopsticks around. “Outrageous, betrayed by my own little radish.”
The dishes and drinks came quickly, filling the table with bright, flaming red. There was a single bowl of sweet soup, which Lan Wangji had ordered for Wen Yuan. Wei Wuxian called for him a few times and tapped on the bowl. But Wen Yuan still kept his head down, mumbling at the two butterflies in his hands.
One moment he was pretending to be the butterfly on the left, saying shyly, “…I like you a lot.” The next, he was pretending to be the butterfly on the right, and replied, “I like you a lot too!”.
Wei Wuxian laughed so hard he nearly fell out of his seat, clutching his stomach he smacked one of his tails into Lan Wangji’s leg, the other only gently flicking across the toddler’s face. “A-Yuan! You tiny little thing, who taught you such things? ‘I like you’, ‘you like me’, do you even know what that means? Come up and eat, you can play more later. Your new dad ordered all of this for you. It’s all good stuff.”
Wen Yuan finally tucked the toys away in his pocket and sat next to Lan Wangji. He picked up the bowl and a small spoon and began to eat the sweet soup. Wen Yuan hadn’t been able to experience much food that didn’t have a foul taste, having previously lived at the Qishan detention camp and later moved to the Burial Mounds. So, after only a few bites, he couldn’t stop himself from eating.
Even so, he still managed to pass the bowl to Wei Wuxian like he was eagerly offering treasure. “…Xian-gege… Gege, eat.” Wei Wuxian chuckled at the offering taking his own spoon and taking a small bite.
“Mmm, not bad, it seems you haven’t completely betrayed your Gege.” Wei Wuxian teased, gently pushing the bowl back over to the toddler and grinning when he watched the boy return to fervently eating the sweet soup.
“Food is taken in silence,” Lan Wangji added. Then to help Wen Yuan understand what he meant, he repeated himself.
“Do not speak while eating.” Lan Wangji repeated in simpler words, Wen Yuan hastily nodded, stopping his chatter and engrossing himself in his meal.
“This is really outrageous, I have to say something a dozen times before he listens to me, but he listens to you the moment you say it!” Wei Wuxian huffed, sticking his tongue out playfully at Wen Yuan, who giggled before returning to his soup.
“You as well, food is taken in silence, Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji stated impassively.
Wei Wuxian only grinned, grabbing his cup and taking a drink before fiddling with it. The two broke into a conversation regardless of what Lan Wangji said, the demonic cultivator questioning the dragon about his Night Hunt. Though when the topic of Jiang Yanli’s wedding to Jin Zixuan came up, a sudden emptiness that he had forced himself to forget about these past few months resurfaced.
He would not be able to go, he wouldn’t be able to wish his Shijie the best, no matter how reluctant he would be to do so, he wouldn’t be able to tell Jin Zixuan to do whatever it took to be the perfect husband and mate for Jiang Yanli.
Ah, and once again there was that loneliness he had felt when they first came to the Burial Mounds.
Though when Wen Yuan finished his soup, he went to latch onto Lan Wangji once again, to which Wei Wuxian laughed, pulling him away from his sadder thoughts and he reached over with his sleeve pulled over his hand to wipe at the boy’s mouth.
“Don’t rub your face on him, A-Yuan. You’ll get his robes dirty.” Though just as he wiped away the soup staining the corners of the child’s mouth, the talisman within his robes ignited and he pulled it out swiftly before it burned to nothing but ash.
“Shoot.” Wei Wuxian hissed, quickly grabbing Wen Yuan and tucking him under his arm as he ran out of the restaurant.
“What’s happening? Where do we need to go?” Lan Wangji questioned as he ran after them.
“Demon-Quelling cave!” Wei Wuxian replied hastily before he was grabbed by the waist and hoisted onto Bichen at Lan Wanji’s side as they flew back to the Burial Mounds.
It turned out that Wen Ning had broken out of his array and had begun to wreak havoc, and while Wei Wuxian ended up being injured, he brought back Wen Ning’s consciousness.
But once again, he and Lan Wangji parted on sorry terms after the dragon questioned his resolve, and his ability to contain the demonic arts he was practicing and retain his own control.
And once again, for the second time that day, he felt unbearable loneliness as he and Wen Yuan watched the Alpha leave.
“Will Rich-gege come back?” Wen Yuan asked him, Wei Wuxian laughing at the name.
“Rich-gege? And what does that make me?” Wei Wuxian teased, though Wen Yuan only looked up at him with the straw-woven butterfly in his hand.
“Xian-gege, Poor-gege.”
“Ah! You call him Daddy and now I’m called Poor-Gege! You truly have no love for me!” Wei Wuxian proclaimed, swatting his tails at Wen Yuan, causing the boy to stumble as he walked, his own tails attempting to banter back with the Omega’s larger and fluffer ones, though he ultimately failed as he had to grab the demonic cultivator’s hand to steady himself.
“Granny said that only Daddy would be nice to me!” Wen Yuan attempted to defend himself, only to sputter when the fluffy appendages berated his face.
“And what will you call me? Am I not nice to you?” Wei Wuxian huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and pretending to look away from the toddler with hurt, the boy whined at the reaction as he tried to reach past the older Huli Jing’s tails to tug his arms down so he could grab his hands.
“What have you done to torment him now?” Wen Qing accused as she came forward, both Wen Yuan and Wei Wuxian turning to face the woman as she came forward, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at the Omega accusingly.
“You have such little faith in me!” Wei Wuxian laughed, though when he looked around, he couldn’t help but stare at the handmade lanterns that hung around the tents, the most prominent having been hung at the largest tent that the demonic cultivator knew to be the ‘dining hall’ of sorts.
“What’s all of this for?”
“It’s for you actually.” Wen Qing answered as she grabbed Wei Wuxian by his sleeve, the man quickly scooped Wen Yuan up once again as they were dragged into the large tent, the rest of the remnants of the Wen clan all sitting around on three large tables.
“Wei-Gongzi, please take a seat.” Wen Ning called slowly, no longer having a stutter as he had to speak slowly, motioning to the head seat of the tables.
“Yes, please sit!”
“Eat with us please!”
A few others called out to him, though Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at such requests. He knew that the Wens all held some fear toward him, hence why he normally chose to forgo eating meals so familial-like with them.
He could even remember when Granny Wen couldn’t even stand in front of him without her legs shaking out of fear.
“What…”
“They wanted to thank you, you never eat meals in here with them because you told them that you are too busy in the cave, so they never wanted to disturb you by asking you to eat with them… not that you eat as often as you should in general…” Wen Qing muttered the last bit, glaring at the man harshly, though Wei Wuxian could tell it was not a glare born out of annoyance or anger, but born out of concern similar to that of an elder sister tired of her younger brother's frivolous antics.
It was a glare he had rarely experienced when he was younger, but it was also one he could recognize in an instant.
He never knew how much he could miss such an expression.
“Wei-Gongzi, Si-Shu is also well experienced with winemaking, he’s even spent a few days making some.” Wen Ning added, pulling out a sealed jar as Si-Shu stepped forward, grinning as he went on to explain how he made the fruit wine, and he and Wei Wuxian went on to discuss the various kinds of liquor they both enjoyed.
Though they both ended up agreeing that Emperor's Smile from Gusu was undoubtedly the best.
And as everyone began to eat and drink, mingling happily, Wei Wuxian could only grin ear to ear as he enjoyed the atmosphere, though he paused in his delight when Granny Wen and Wen Yuan came over to sit at his side, the little boy on her lap as she smiled at the two of them.
“Granny, can I help you?” Wei Wuxian questioned, simply patting Wen Yuan’s head when the boy passed him the straw-woven butterfly.
“I wanted to thank you for helping A-Yuan and being there for him in ways I could not… We are so fortunate to have you.” Granny Wen smiled kindly, reaching forward to hold Wei Wuxian’s hand within her own, squeezing gently in a way that could nearly cause the demonic cultivator to tear up.
“Xian-gege…” Wen Yuan called, crawling off of his grandmother’s lap to hug Wei Wuxian’s tails, smiling brightly up at the man while Wei Wuxian looked down at the boy playfully.
“Still calling me Xian-gege? And yet you call Lan Zhan daddy.” Wei Wuxian teased, though he noticed that the boy only nodded, rather than becoming adorably exasperated from the teasing.
“That’s because I’d call Xian-gege, Mommy!” Wen Yuan replied proudly, as though he had found the answer to every question that Wei Wuxian had teased him about that day.
And it truly seemed that he did.
Because of the way his tears nearly fell and his heart jumped at the name, the way it felt as though it was the answer to every question, the answer to every problem he could’ve had. Hearing that made it all seem so irrelevant.
Granny Wen seemed to falter for a moment out of shock, though before she could speak out to correct Wen Yuan, Wei Wuxian picked the boy up and set him on his lap, smoothing out the fur around his ears as he grinned from ear to ear.
“Very well then, you can call me that, only if you agree that mommies and grandmothers are better than daddies.” Wei Wuxian countered, Wen Yuan giggling as he nodded, happily turning to look at his grandmother while Wei Wuxian did the same.
Though the woman only smiled, reaching out to pat both Huli Jings on the cheek, her intelligent eyes growing misty as her smile spread so wide her toothless gums could be seen. Wei Wuxian only returned the gesture before taking the woman’s hand and holding it gently. A silent promise that both adults understood, and one that Wen Yuan would never need to hear to know.
No matter what others called this path, no matter how dark it seemed.
It could never be that dark.
Because it truly didn’t seem to be as lonely as he once thought, he was happy here, he had enough.
He had a new family.