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Chapter Text

The smell of autumn filled the air as a breeze swept through the open patio where Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu were sharing a drink while waiting for the food they ordered. The sun was just starting to set in the sky, casting a golden glow across the horizon. 

Zhou Zishu threw back his wine, and before he could even bring his hand all the way down, his husband held out the pitcher to pour him another glass. After filling Zhou Zishu’s cup, Wen Kexing took a sip of his wine, staring at the sunset with a peaceful look on his face. “A-Xu. With Chengling off doing his own thing, we should do this more often.”

Zhou Zishu leaned back in his chair. “Do what?”

“Travel. Visit new places. Stay in fancy inns. Sleep in fancy beds.” Wen Kexing leaned over to place his elbow on the table so he could rest his head in his hand. Looking up through his lashes, he smirked at his husband. “Destroy said fancy beds.”

Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes. “Spend all our money on paying for said fancy beds we’ve destroyed.” 

Wen Kexing laughed and reached over to pour himself another cup of wine. “What better to spend money on than a good time, no?”

“Food. Liquor. Clothing…” Zhou Zishu angled his head to the side, staring through his brow at Wen Kexing. “Since you keep ripping mine.” 

The snide remark earned him another chuckle from his husband. “Again. What better to spend money on than a good time? And if I remember correctly, you enjoyed all those good times. I specifically remember you continuously moaning ‘Lao Wen! Lao Wen! Don’t st-” 

“A-Xing.” Zhou Zishu’s voice was low and sharp, trying his best to sound authoritative in hopes of making his husband stop. However, he was fully aware that that tone of voice was a turn-on for Wen Kexing, who leaned forward to play with the hem of Zhou Zishu’s sleeve. “What? What will you do, A-Xu?” 

Before Zhou Zishu could respond, they were suddenly interrupted. “Uh, Hi! Hello! Um, excuse me! Sorry to bother you!” From the other side of the patio wall, a man with black robes and a red hair ribbon frantically waved his hand toward them, as if to both get their attention and apologize for the disturbance. “Have you seen a really tall cultivator dressed in white with a little white headband going across his forehead come by here?”

Both Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu looked at each other while trying to recall whether they’d seen someone who fit that description. Wen Kexing looked around toward the street and then back at the man, giving him a small shrug. “Um, no, I don’t think so, sorry.”

“Fuck!” The man’s eyes widened. “Ah! Sorry, I just, HA HA, I seem to have lost my husband.” He stood on his toes, looking past them into the restaurant. When he didn’t see who he was looking for, his gaze returned to the two of them. He gave them a big smile, though his worry still shined through his eyes. “Sorry for the interruption! Enjoy your night!”

The man quickly turned on his heel and took off down the street. As he disappeared, Wen Kexing furrowed his brow, tapping his index finger against the rim of his wine cup. He looked down at the cup and then up again at his husband. “A-Xu.”

Zhou Zishu was still staring off down the street, his face barely showing any emotion. “No.” 

“Oh, come on.” Wen Kexing leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. “Aren’t you the least bit curious? He didn’t seem like he was from around here.”

“And that's our business because?”

Wen Kexing sat up straight, donning a playfully offended expression. “Hey. If I suddenly lost you and had to go around asking people to help me find you, I’d hope that at least ONE nice person would offer to help. You wouldn’t want help if you suddenly lost me?”

“If I suddenly lost YOU?” Zhou Zishu chuckled. “That would require you to leave my side. Which is unlikely.”

“Zhou Zishu.” Wen Kexing tilted his head disapprovingly. At first, Zhou Zishu pretended not to notice, taking another drink of wine. But Wen Kexing continued to stare at him with unnerving persistence. 

Zhou Zishu hung his head and let out a long groan. “UGH! Fine. Fine. Let’s go.” 

As much as he didn’t want to go and get involved in someone else’s business, Zhou Zishu’s heart warmed when he saw the huge, excited smile that grew on Wen Kexing’s face. 

They apologized to the waiter and asked to hold their food order till later. They were staying in one of the rooms upstairs, so they were guaranteed to return. But much to Zhou Zishu’s dismay, Wen Kexing told the waiter that they would still pay extra upon their return because of the inconvenience. 

They left the restaurant and quickly made their way down the street in the direction that the stranger had disappeared. They figured if they were going to help, they’d need to find him first. But after searching for a few minutes, they couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. 

They weren’t really sure where to look next, so they started to make their way toward the outskirts of town. They kept their eyes peeled for the stranger in black or the man in white that he’d been looking for.

A long time passed with no success. They weren't able to find either man and it seemed like they were going in circles. But as they passed by an empty courtyard in front of an old, abandoned home off the side of the main road, Wen Kexing stopped. He grabbed hold of Zhou Zishu’s sleeve and awkwardly pointed toward the courtyard.

Zhou Zishu looked toward where Wen Kexing was pointing. “Oh… huh...” 

On the opposite side of the courtyard stood a large tree with many thick, sturdy branches. And hanging by the arms from one of the branches was a tall man in white robes and a thin white ribbon worn across his forehead. 

Wen Kexing tilted his head while staring down at his feet “Is he… is he floating on a sword!? Have you ever seen that before!?” Sure enough, the man in white was balancing both feet on top of the blade of a sword, which was floating a few feet above the ground.

With his eyes fixated on the shiny silver sword, Zhou Zishu slowly shook his head. “No. I’ve heard about some cultivator sects that practice that, but none that are located close to here. They must be really far from home”

Suddenly, the man in white gracefully pulled himself up onto the branch until he was sitting upright with his legs dangling down. The sword swiftly floated up and returned itself to its sheath. Even though the man was obviously very tall and broad, he looked like a child sitting in a tree as he swung his legs back and forth.  

Wen Kexing chuckled. “I think we found the missing husband.” Zhou Zishu nodded but kept his attention to the stranger. He followed hesitantly as Wen Kexing led their way into the courtyard.

“Um, excuse me. Excuse me! Sir.” As they got closer, Wen Kexing leaned forward so he could meet the eyes of the stranger. “Are you lost? I think we saw your husband looking for you earlier.” 

The man’s brow furrowed marginally. “...Wei Ying?” 

Wen Kexing smiled, trying to look as trustworthy as possible. The stranger was obviously very agile but also acting very strangely, so he didn’t want to make any sudden movements that could be seen as threatening. “Um, well, he didn’t tell us his name, but he was about yay high. Black hair. Red ribbon. Said a lot of words really fast.” 

The man’s eyes widened. “Wei Ying!”

Wen Kexing chuckled and turned to Zhou Zishu. “Oh, well A-Xu. Looks like we found him.” He raised an eyebrow at him, playful taunting him for trying to deny him this excursion earlier. 

Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes. “Great. Now we have to find the other one. This ‘Wei Ying’ guy.”

The man in white suddenly jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully and barely making a sound. The way he walked toward them made it look like he was gliding. When he came to stand in front of them, he looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment. Then, he settled on talking directly to Zhou Zishu. “Where is Wei Ying?” 

Zhou Zishu paused, feeling like he was being put on the spot. He and Wen Kexing were both skilled in their martial arts, but they were both a bit shorter and not as broad as the man. He didn’t feel like the man was hostile, but he did think that if it came to that, it would take both himself and Wen Kexing to fight him. 

However, the man, while he was acting strangely, gave off the impression of a man who was well-mannered, well-read, and good-natured. So, Zhou Zishu’s worry lessened slightly. 

He nodded politely at the man, who was still just patiently staring at him, waiting for a response. “Well, we don't know but we will help you find him.”

“Mn.” The man’s eyes crinkled ever so slightly at the corners, giving the impression that he was smiling, though the rest of his face barely moved. 

Wen Kexing chuckled. “What is your name?”

The man looked toward Wen Kexing and tilted his head, looking slightly confused. His eyes wandered around Wen Kexing’s face for a minute. “Hmm.” He straightened back up and gave a small nod. “My name… is Lan Wangji.”

Wen Kexing let out a soft, awkward laugh. It wasn’t clear why Lan Wangji had studied his face so intently. But he didn’t seem to be much of a threat, at least not at the moment. “Okay, Lan Wangji. Nice to meet you. Let’s go find your husband, shall we? Do you remember where you were staying?”

Lan Wangji let out another hum before turning on his heel and walking toward the entrance to the courtyard. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing looked at each other, both donning confused but intrigued expressions. Wen Kexing shrugged and started off after Lan Wangji, with Zhou Zishu following close behind. 

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu were both very fast when they wanted to be, but they were having trouble keeping up with Lan Wangji as he wandered throughout the outskirts of town. He got distracted a few times, stopping to look at random trinkets or clothing that vendors were selling. Each time, Zhou Zishu would calmly redirect him away from the stall and get his attention back to the task at hand. 

“It’s like he’s a child. He’s worse than Chengling was when we stayed in town.” Wen Kexing giggled.

Zhou Zishu chuckled lightly. “A giant child.” The longer they spent with the strange man, the more endearing they found him to be. 

They finally made their way to the front of an inn located on the opposite side of the town center from where their own inn was located. Lan Wangji stood in front of it, looking up at the facade with a pensive look on his face. 

“Is this it?” Wen Kexing leaned to the side, trying to get Lan Wangji’s attention. 

Suddenly, a voice called from behind them. “Lan Zhan!” 

Wei Ying came running down the street at full speed. He jumped into his husband’s arms, wrapping his arms around his neck in a big, long hug. When Lan Zhan eventually put him down, Wei Ying looked up at him with an excited but worried expression. “Where did you go running off to!? I was looking everywhere for you!”

Lan Zhan reached up and brushed a piece of Wei Ying’s disheveled hair out of his face. “Mn. Wei Ying. I found a tree. For you to climb.”

Wei Ying threw his head back, letting out a loud, cheerful laugh. “HAHA! Oh, you sweet, sweet man! You are too funny! Next time, take me with you, okay? You had me so worried!” He playfully punched Lan Zhan on the shoulder. “You can’t just run off like that! You know how you get when you drink! You at least have to TRY to stay with me so we don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

Wen Kexing leaned to the side, speaking softly so only Zhou Zishu could hear him. “He’s drunk? That explains a lot.”

Zhou Zishu nodded. “Hmm. Who would have guessed.” 

Wei Ying looked over his husband’s shoulder at the men standing behind them. “Oh! It’s you guys! Oh, wow, thank you so much for finding him! He’s… well, he isn’t usually like this. He typically doesn’t drink, but… Well, mistakes were obviously made! And he’s a terrible lightweight with a tendency to get overly playful when he’s drunk! Isn't that right, Lan Zhan?” Wen Ying reached up and poked Lan Zhan lightly on the cheek, giggling at the way his husband’s ears immediately turned bright red. 

He turned back toward Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu with a huge, bright smile on his face. “Thank you so, so much for your help! I mean it! Let me repay you! Please!”

Zhou Zishu politely shook his head. “No need.” Wen Kexing looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“No! Please! I insist. How about a round on me? Or dinner? I did interrupt yours, I’m sure you didn’t have time to eat. I’ve heard the restaurant back at your inn is quite famous. I want to try the food there, anyway. And Lan Zhan DEFINITELY needs to eat so he can sober up a bit. So? What do you say?” 

Zhou Zishu started to shake his head again. “It’s fi-” 

Wen Kexing elbowed Zhou Zishu in the ribs before bowing slightly at Wei Wuxian. “That would be wonderful. Thank you for the invitation.” He eyed Zhou Zishu, surprised that his husband was about to turn down a free meal, but even more surprised that he was going to turn down free alcohol.

Wei Ying chuckled, giving Wen Kexing a huge, toothy grin. “Please! Don’t thank me! You really helped us out. It’s the least we could do.”

It was a short walk for the four of them to get back to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu’s inn. When they arrived, the same waiter greeted them. Wen Kexing inquired about a larger table and handed him some money, as promised earlier. Then he led them to a large table on a private balcony off the second floor that looked over the main road. 

Now that it was night, there were twinkling lanterns hung above the vendors that lined the street and music played from somewhere in the nearby area, creating a lively atmosphere. 

The waiter brought two jugs of wine and a tray of small snacks to eat while they waited for their main meal. But before he could walk off, Wei Ying ordered another two jugs of wine. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing eyed each other, both looking surprised and impressed by their new companion’s order. Wei Ying then took the initiative to pour everyone some wine. Except for Lan Zhan, who was given his own pot of hot tea. 

Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu, and Wei Ying tapped their glasses together before drinking their wine. With a satisfied sigh, Wen Kexing put his glass down and settled into his chair, looking toward Wei Ying with a cordial smile. “By the way, my name is Wen Kexing. And this ray of sunshine over here is my husband, Zhou Zishu.” 

Wei Ying let out an abrupt laugh at Wen Kexing’s sarcastic comment. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Wei Wuxian, but you can call me Wei Ying.”

Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes at Wen Kexing but turned to bow his head toward Wei Ying. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Under the table, Wen Kexing felt Zhou Zishu push the heel of his foot into his toes. All he could do in response was chuckle. He took the wine jug and poured everyone a second glass of wine. “So, I couldn’t help but notice your cultivation techniques are very different from what is practiced around here. I assume you both are traveling?”

Wei Ying downed his second glass of wine as quickly as Wen Kexing had poured it, ending it with a loud ahh. “You’ve assumed correctly, yes! We’re just passing through. What about you? You’re staying here, so I guess you don’t live in town?”

Wen Kexing nodded and pointed in the direction behind Wei Ying. “We live about a day’s travel north of here. We’re just visiting for a few days. A respite away from home, you could say. Our disciple recently turned 18 and went off on his own on a solo traveling trip for a few months, so we have a lot of time on our hands right now.”

Zhou Zishu shot a look at Wen Kexing, a not-so-subtle indication that he was uncomfortable with Wen Kexing revealing too much information about their personal lives. Wen Kexing just gave him a smile, not really caring about his concerns.

Wei Ying smiled brightly. “That’s great! Our young disciples are also at that age. We hardly ever see them anymore. They’re always off on night hunts together and rarely want us to go with them because they want to prove that they're capable of doing it on their own. Or they go to other sects for banquets and meetings and such. You know, political stuff. Which Lan Zhan and I just truly could care less about these days.” Wei Ying let out a hearty laugh, turning to his husband, who was staring at him with crinkles in the corners of his eyes again. 

Wen Kexing leaned closer to Zhou Zishu. “Thankfully we don’t socialize and don't have to do those things either, huh?” Zhou Zishu nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with that sentiment. 

The waiter appeared with trays of food, placing them around the table. Everything looked delicious, except for the bright red dish that was placed in front of Wei Ying. He happily wafted the aroma up to his nose, breathing in the smell of the dish. 

Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing didn’t dislike spicy foods, but something about that dish seemed like it would just burn their taste buds and make everything else impossible to taste. So they both politely declined when Wei Ying offered it to them.

Wei Ying started talking, even though he was in the middle of taking a bite of his bright red food. “So what techni-”

“Wei Ying.” Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing looked to Lan Zhan, as this was the first time he’d spoken in quite a long time. He was staring at Wei Ying with a knowing look. Wei Ying chucked and shifted in his seat, nodding to his husband with a humored smile. He finished chewing his food and then smiled brightly at Lan Zhan. “You’re right, you’re right. We’re with guests!” 

He chuckled again and turned back to his new companions. “So! What techniques of ours did you notice that you don’t use here? I’m so curious!”

Zhou Zishu’s eyes turned toward Lan Zhan. “We don’t have flying swords.”

Wei Ying turned his head and squinted his eyes at Lan Zhan, studying him with a curious look on his face. He let out an amused breath and looked back at his other companions. “No flying swords. Interesting.” He put his finger to his chin and hummed pensively. 

Wen Kexing laughed and nudged Zhou Zishu in the side. “A-Xu. Get me a flying sword.” 

Zhou Zishu finished a small bite of food. “Best not. That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

Wen Kexing pulled back, pretending to be offended. “What!? I’m way more graceful than you are. You’d probably fall off in the first ten seconds.”

Zhou Zishu tilted his head defiantly. “You wanna bet?” 

Wen Kexing’s eyes darkened, but then he heard a soft giggle coming from across the table. Wei Ying was watching them with a highly amused look on his face. “Oh! Sorry! Don’t stop on our behalf. I found it quite funny, actually!” He laughed before taking another sip of wine. Wen Kexing couldn’t help but laugh along with Wei Ying. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Wen Kexing could see Zhou Zishu staring down at his cup with a smirk on his face. Wen Kexing reached under the table and lightly grazed his finger along the top of Zhou Zishu’s free hand, which was resting on his leg. Zhou Zishu tilted his head toward his husband and shook his head slightly as if warning Wen Kexing not to push it.

Of course, Wen Kexing took any and all of Zhou Zishu’s warnings as a challenge. He was about to continue pestering his husband when Zhou Zishu suddenly spoke. “Are you traveling for work or pleasure? If you don’t mind me asking.” 

Wei Ying leaned forward and rested his head in his hand. “At first, it was for pleasure. But we heard about a fierce corpse causing trouble in a town a day or two west of here. So we decided we’d go check it out.”

Lan Zhan reached over and pushed a piece of Wei Ying’s hair, which was dangerously close to dipping into one of the dishes in front of him, back behind his shoulder. 

Zhou Zishu’s eyebrows furrowed. “A fierce corpse?” He looked over at Wen Kexing, who just gave him an unsure shrug. 

Wei Ying sat up again, looking quite confused. “Are those not common here?”

Zhou Zishu shook his head. “Not that we’re aware of, no.”

“What is it?” Wen Kexing’s voice gave away how intrigued he was about the topic. 

“It’s a type of undead being. Like walking corpses, but worse.” Wei Ying looked back and forth between Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing, waiting for some recognition to his explanation. They looked at each other, then back at Wei Ying, both shaking their heads simultaneously.

Wei Ying’s eyes widened. “You don’t have those either!? Does your area ever deal with any kind of undead? Or ghosts? Do you deal with a lot of ghosts?” 

“The only ghosts we’ve dealt with were definitely not dead, just really terrible humans. Though some of them might as well have been dead, though.” Wen Kexing grimaced, tilting his head back to drink more of his wine. 

Wei Ying looked confused, so Zhou Zishu stepped in. “Criminals were sent to what was called Ghost Valley. It was supposed to be a place where they reformed and repented. But, of course, one area filled with a bunch of criminals. You can imagine how that went. They were called Ghosts because that’s where they were from. But they weren’t dead.”

Zhou Zishu turned to look at his husband with a concerned look on his face, hoping that talking about the place Wen Kexing used to live wouldn’t upset him. Wen Kexing just gave him a small smile before chiming in with another thought. 

“There was one time, back when we first met, where we encountered these creepy, humanoid beings down in an underground tunnel that seemed to lead to the Netherworld. But they were alive. Just mutated, I think. Oh! And that really big half-dog,half-horse monster thing. Remember that, A-Xu?” 

So much had happened since that random day, when they had only just met. Zhou Zishu had found Wen Kexing incessantly annoying back then. Wen Kexing hadn’t changed much, but Zhou Zishu’s opinion of him sure had. He smirked at his husband, showing his recognition with a nod. 

Across the table, Wei Ying turned to Lan Zhan, reaching out to rest a hand on his upper arm. “Lan Zhan, this might be more complicated than we thought.”

Zhou Zishu’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why is it more complicated?”

Wei Ying tapped his thumb against the table. “Well, we get fierce corpses all the time back where we’re from. It’s like dealing with a dangerous wild animal. They are a problem for common people, so those of us who are trained cultivators will deal with them in.” Wei Ying had looked prideful as he spoke, but then some worry washed over his face. “But if no one in your area is used to dealing with them, they might cause a lot more problems, wreak a lot more havoc, hurt a lot more people, and take way longer to take down.”

Without skipping a beat, Wen Kexing spoke up. “We can help!” Zhou Zishu shot him a look, surprised by his sudden exclamation. Wen Kexing waved a hand at him, dismissing whatever concern Zhou Zishu was clearly trying to convey.

Wei Ying shook both hands in front of his body. “Oh! No. I couldn’t ask you guys to do that! You just said you haven’t dealt with stuff like this! I would hate to put nice people such as yourselves in a complicated situation! Really, it’s fine.”

Wen Kexing shook his head with a smile. “You just said that it would take longer without help. We might not be familiar with it, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find more skilled martial artists in the area than us. Not to be cocky, or anything, but it’s true. We’re the best around.” Wen Kexing nodded, feeling incredibly confident about what he’d just claimed.

Zhou Zishu couldn’t help but nod along with him. What Wen Kexing said wasn’t wrong. There weren’t any martial artists in the area that compared to them in terms of skills. So if these two strangers were going to need help, he and his husband were going to be their best choice for assistance. He also couldn’t deny feeling very intrigued by the idea of fighting against an undead being. There was a first time for everything. 

Wei Ying looked over at his husband with a hopeful look on his face. “Lan Zhan? What do you think?”

The three of them waited patiently as Lan Zhan finished the bite he was still chewing. Once he was finished, he looked at Zhou Zishu, then Wen Kexing, then turned to Wei Ying. “Mn. They could be helpful.” 

Wei Ying clapped his hands together with glee. “Okay, then! Looks like the four of us are going to hunt a fierce corpse!” 

Chapter Text

The next morning, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing met with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji at the town center. From there, they all started off on their journey west. 

Since it was last minute, they couldn’t procure horses for four people, so for at least the first day of the journey, they would have to travel on foot. Lan Wangji and Zhou Zishu were at the front of the group, leading the way, while Wen Kexing and Wei Wuxian followed a few paces behind them. 

Wen Kexing, who hated long periods of silence, started a conversation with his new companion almost immediately. “So, is Lan Zhan always like that?”

Wei Ying chuckled. “Like what?” 

“Not very vocal.” Wen Kexing hoped that that didn’t sound insulting. He didn’t mean it negatively, but he just wasn’t really sure how else to say it. 

However, Wei Ying didn’t seem insulted at all. He simply chuckled again as he walked with his hands clasped behind his back. “OH! Yeah, he’s always been a man of few words, for as long as I’ve known him. Which is why it’s a good thing he married me. A man of TOO many words.” Wei Ying followed that with a bright, joyous laugh. 

Wen Kexing laughed. “A great match, then.” He looked forward, staring adoringly at his husband’s shoulders as he walked ahead of them. “We’re a bit similar, A-Xu and I. I’m definitely the one who talks way more than he does. And he pretends like he finds it annoying when I talk a lot, but he’d be truly bored if I didn’t.” Wen Kexing noticed Zhou Zishu turn his head slightly to look back out of the corner of his eye before turning back toward the road ahead.

Wei Ying let out another chuckle. “How long have you guys been married?”

Wen Kexing had to think for a moment. “Hmmm, coming up on 5 years I think. You?”

“About the same, give or take. But we’ve known each other since we were young teenagers. His sect held lectures that I was forced to go to with my brother. We were in the same lecture groups since we were about the same age. And the rest is history! A very long, very complicated history. But we got our happy ending eventually.”

Wen Kexing turned to look at Wei Ying, furrowing his brows as he studied Wei Ying’s face. “You’re the same age? Hmm, I would have guessed you were way younger. I mean, you look younger.”

A weird expression washed over Wei Ying’s face. “Oh, well. That’s…” He let out an awkward laugh. “That’s the complicated part.” He shook his head. “A story for another time, maybe. When there’s more alcohol and less fierce corpse hunting.”

Wen Kexing’s interest was piqued, but he wasn’t going to push Wei Ying to reveal something he wasn’t yet ready to reveal. He nodded with a polite smile. “Deal.”

Up at the front of the group, Zhou Zishu and Lan Wangji walked gracefully and quietly side by side, leading the way toward their destination.

Zhou Zishu found Lan Wangji to be as intriguing as he was strange. He was stoic, clearly a very talented and powerful cultivator, and he was incredibly quiet. Zhou Zishu wasn’t used to this amount of silence, considering he lived with someone like Wen Kexing, who rarely stopped talking. 

For a long while, they just walked silently along the road. But eventually, Zhou Zishu’s curiosity got the better of him and he felt the need to break the silence. He looked over at the sword on Lan Wangji’s back. “I like your sword.”

Lan Wangji turned slightly toward Zhou Zishu, then angled his eyes toward his sword. “Mn. Thank you.” Then, he turned to face forward again. 

Another long silence passed between them before Zhou Zishu spoke again. “Does it have a name?” 

Lan Wangji nodded. “Bichen.”

A small smile pulled at the corners of Zhou Zishu’s lips. He found the name, which meant ‘to avoid worldly matters,’ to be quite an appropriate name for a sword. Since ‘avoiding’ or ‘fighting off’ things was exactly what a sword should do. “Good name. My sword’s name is Baiyi. It’s a whip sword.”

Lan Wangji’s gaze fell to the sword at Zhou Zishu’s hip. “That is also a good name.”

“You wouldn’t think that if you met the guy the sword was named after.” From behind them, Wen Kexing called out, ending his sentence with a laugh. 

Zhou Zishu turned, giving his husband a disapproving glare. “Lao Wen.”

“What? That Old Monster isn’t nearly as nice or as pretty as your sword. And you’re much prettier than them both, A-Xu.” Wen Kexing winked at Zhou Zishu. Next to him, Wei Ying held in a small giggle. 

Zhou Zishu just stared at his husband, unsure how to respond. He knew that if he retorted Wen Kexing’s flirtations, Wen Kexing would only double down. So, Zhou Zishu said nothing. 

Wen Kexing smirked, realizing that Zhou Zishu was retreating. But he didn't want to win so easily. “What? Am I wrong, A-Xu?”

Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes and turned to face forward again, but not before Wen Kexing could catch his lips turning up into a small smile. He continued forward with Lan Wangji, letting Wen Kexing win this round. 

Wei Ying let out a quiet laugh, covering his mouth with a fist. “You guys are funny. Even when you’re poking fun at each other, you can tell you both hold a lot of affection for one another.”

Wen Kexing couldn’t help but blush. He wasn’t shy about flirting with his husband in front of other people. Zhou Zishu often scolded him for flirting in a very unabashed way in front of waiters, vendors, shopkeepers, or anyone else who was around. But no one else had ever addressed it so directly with him. 

He smiled in Zhou Zishu’s direction. “Yeah, we’ve always been this way. ‘Fighting’ is our foreplay.”

Wei Ying’s head tilted back as he let out a laugh so boisterous that even Zhou Zishu and Lan Wangji turned around to see what the fuss was about. Lan Wangji smiled at his laughing husband while Zhou Zishu’s eyebrows furrowed, showing his curiosity about the situation. 

Wen Kexing waved a hand at Zhou Zishu, wordlessly indicating that he should turn around. Zhou Zishu simply shook his head and turned back toward the road. 

Wei Ying’s laughing slowed as he tried to catch his breath. “HAHA! Amazing. That’s hilarious. I love it. I'll have to remember that.”

Wen Kexing stared down at his feet, smiling as he walked. His heart felt so full, thinking about how far his relationship with Zhou Zishu had come in the span of five years. They had gone through so much at the start, but things slowed down so quickly after Zhou Zishu recovered. 

A small part of Wen Kexing had worried that Zhou Zishu would lose interest in him when things weren’t as chaotic and exciting anymore. But that was a pointless worry. It was the fact that they could just relax and be together in the quiet moments, appreciating the slowness of their new life together, that strengthened their relationship to what it was now. 

He let out a short sigh. “Honestly, I’m just glad we’ve made it to five years.”

“What do you mean?” Wei Ying tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at Wen Kexing’s sudden change in tone.

Wen Kexing angled his head up toward the many trees lining their paths, watching the leaves that were fluttering overhead. “He almost died. 5 years ago. When we met, he was dying.”

“Oh.” Wei Ying’s voice was barely audible, sounding more like a breath than an actual word. 

Wen Kexing looked back toward the two men walking in front of them, shrugging his shoulders as he tried to make the huge piece of information he’d just revealed seem a little less heavy. “You wouldn’t even know it looking at him now, right? He recovered really well.”

There was a long, drawn-out pause before Wei Ying responded again. “Was he sick?”

“No, it was…” Wen Kexing realized how personal this specific story was and that it wasn’t his story alone to tell. So he turned toward Wei Ying with another polite smile. “It’s also complicated. It can be added to the list of things to talk about over wine.”

Wei Ying smiled knowingly. He nodded, accepting Wen Kexing’s desire to put that particular conversation on hold till another time. 

Now that the men were all far enough from any villages, they started to use their qinggong to get around more quickly. Wen Kexing was impressed to find how skilled both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were as they all jumped and soared through the trees, leaving no traces behind. Other than Zhou Zishu, he hadn’t met anyone else who compared or exceeded his martial skills, but this pair of near strangers were proving themselves to be quite talented. 

Because Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing were more familiar with the area, they were all able to make it closer to their final destination by the end of the day than Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian would have been able to do had they been alone. As the sun started to set, they came to a town that was only half a day away from where they needed to be to find the fierce ghost. They stopped for the night, finding an inn in town that had two available rooms. 

Each couple went to their own room to set down their belongings and rest for a bit before they would reconvene in the evening for a meal downstairs. As soon as Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu got into their room, Zhou Zishu fell onto the bed with a long, satisfied sigh. 

“A-Xu, are you tired? We haven’t traveled like this in a long time.” Wen Kexing walked over and laid down next to him.

Zhou Zishu let out an amused huff. “Just a little. I am getting old, you know.” 

Wen Kexing moved his arm so he could poke Zhou Zishu in the side, earning him a small grunting noise from his husband. “You can’t say that. I’m older than you.” 

Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes. “Barely.” 

They both went silent for a while. They closed their eyes and breathed deeply, just enjoying the free moment to relax. They were supposed to be taking the week off to eat and drink to their heart’s content. Not run across the country to fight some unknown monster. And while they were both excited to do something adventurous, they weren’t exactly prepared for it.

Usually, Zhou Zishu was the one to keep the silence going as long as possible, but now he was the first to break the silence. “They’re very interesting. Weird, but interesting.”

Wen Kexing chuckled and turned on his side to face his husband. “I like them. I’m intrigued by their whole… thing.” He waved his hand in the air as he spoke. “We haven’t spent time with other cultivators or martial artists that we weren’t trying to fight or kill. It’s kind of strange. But, then again, maybe we could use some friends, no?”

Zhou Zishu guffawed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re only here to help them.”

Wen Kexing poked Zhou Zishu in the side again. “Oh, whatever. You can’t tell me that you didn’t enjoy all your quiet contemplation time with Lan Wangji today. You seemed so calm and peaceful.”

“An occurrence that does not happen often with you around.” He turned his head to look at Wen Kexing, his expression staying flat. Wen Kexing immediately recognized this lack of expression as Zhou Zishu’s way of goading him into a very specific reaction. One that Wen Kexing was happy to oblige. 

In a flash, Wen Kexing maneuvered himself so he was positioned over Zhou Zishu, straddling his hips and caging his head between his arms. “Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t be bored without me.” 

Zhou Zishu smirked. “To death.” 

The corner of Wen Kexing’s lips pulled into an arrogant smile before he dipped down to kiss Zhou Zishu. He moved one of his hands to slide up the side of Zhou Zishu’s neck, caressing his earlobe between his thumb and index finger. His heart beat faster when he felt Zhou Zishu’s lips pull into a smile against his own.

They kissed like this for a while, taking their time to savor the moment alone. After a few minutes, Zhou Zishu took Wen Kexing’s bottom lip between his teeth and bit down, earning him a moan from his husband. Then, he pulled back so he could speak. “We should go downstairs soon.”

Wen Kexing huffed and moved his head so he was nuzzled into Zhou Zishu’s neck, lightly kissing the soft skin below his ear. He took Zhou Zishu’s earlobe into his mouth and nibbled it, appreciating the way Zhou Zishu’s breath caught in his throat. Then he moved so he could whisper in his ear. “Are you sure? You seem to be a bit…” He pressed his hip against Zhou Zishu’s groin. “...excited.” 

Zhou Zishu moaned. He let Wen Kexing kiss up and down his neck a few more times before finally pushing up on Wen Kexing’s shoulders till he was staring down at him. “If you truly want them to be our friends, then yes, we should head downstairs.”

Wen Kexing let out an annoyed whine, but pushed himself off of Zhou Zishu, sitting up next to him on the bed. “Fine, fine. Let’s go.” He stood up and held out his hand so he could help his husband to his feet. Once they were both standing, he crowded into Zhou Zishu’s side so he could whisper in his ear once more. “But we’re picking up where we left off when we come back up here later. Got it?”

Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes. “Whatever my wife wants, he gets.” 

They made their way downstairs to the restaurant. They were the first to the table but Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian weren’t far behind. Like they had the first night, they ordered four jugs of wine, a few meatless dishes for Lan Wangji, a spicy dish for Wei Wuxian, and a handful of other dishes for the table. 

While they waited, they chatted about random, innocuous things. They covered things like what the areas they were from were like, how many people were in their sects, and what their sects were called. When their food came, they talked about their favorite foods and alcohols from where they were from and what the weather was like at different times of the year. 

After most of the food was eaten and a lot of the wine was drunk, Wen Kexing leaned over, looking at the sword on Lan Wangji’s back, then looked back at Wei Wuxian. “Does everyone have a sword where you come from? And do you all usually ride your swords?” He suddenly snorted, covering his mouth as he laughed. 

Wei Wuxian chuckled along with him, hiding his laughter behind a fist. Lan Wangji blinked awkwardly. And to Wen Kexing’s side, Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes. 

Wen Kexing waved his hand apologetically. “Sorry, I just heard what I said and it sounded… haha never mind.”

Wei Wuxian chuckled again before reaching over and lightly touching Lan Wangji’s sword with his fingertips. “Most cultivators have swords, but some use sabers.” Then he reached down and pulled up the flute that was hanging by his side. “We also use instruments as weapons. I use my dizi most of the time, and Lan Zhan has his guqin.” He pointed to the wrapped instrument that was leaning against the wall behind them.

“And in terms of travel, we sometimes travel by sword, but not for long trips. I don’t really carry my sword as often as my flute. And I…” He put the flute back down, then tilted his head awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure about what he was about to say. “Well, I struggle to travel on it for long periods of time. So I only ride on my sword for short trips.”

Wen Kexing simply nodded, feeling very satisfied with the answer he got, even though he was curious about Wei Ying’s sudden change in demeanor. There were obviously many things these two men were keeping close to their chests. A quality he respected, since he and Zhou Zishu were doing the same. 

“What about here? Do most people carry swords or…?” Wei Ying tilted his head, looking down at Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing’s sides. 

Zhou Zishu put his hand to the hilt of his sword. “Usually, yes. It’s the most common weapon. I have a whip sword. Wen Kexing doesn’t carry a sword but he’s still very good at using one. He taught himself, actually. And he's better than most who were professionally trained.” Wen Kexing turned and stared at his husband with a slightly shocked expression. Zhou Zishu usually didn’t compliment him like that in front of people. 

Zhou Zishu ignored his husband’s stares and continued. “Some people use instruments to influence qi, but not so much as weapons. Though, it isn’t totally uncommon. Just very rare.”

Wei Wuxian looked very curiously over at Wen Kexing. “What do you use, then?”

Wen Kexing rested an elbow on the table and moved his other hand in the air as he spoke. “Well. I learned how to fight with my hands. Pretty good at that. Can kill a man with just my bare hands. And I also carry a dagger, but I usually only use that when there is absolutely no other choice. When I want to use a weapon, I use my fan."

Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows furrowed. “A fan?” Next to him, Lan Wangji’s eyebrows furrowed as well, though it was less noticeable. 

Wen Kexing nodded proudly. “Mhm. A fan.”

“Like a…” Wei Ying held his hand up by his face, miming the motion of fanning himself with a folding fan. “That kind of fan?” 

“Yep.” Wen Kexing took his fan out of his sleeve, opening it in front of his face with a loud clack. 

Wei Ying’s eyes widened and his eyebrows lifted high on his forehead. “What!?!? You use that!? How? How did you learn how to do that!?” 

It had been a long time since Wen Kexing explained to someone how he learned to fight with a fan. He had told the story to Zhou Zishu a few months after Zhou Zishu recovered. And then he told the story to Chengling about two years later when Chengling asked if Wen Kexing could teach him. 

Back in the day, when he was still young and the Ghost Master at the time was still in charge, Wen Kexing wasn’t allowed weapons. He was a hotheaded kid who had a tendency to act unexpectedly. So while it was unfair, it made sense. 

He spent most of his free time with the women of Ghost Valley, keeping away from the terrible older men who liked to bully him when he wasn’t being careful. Many of the women carried fans to cool themselves during the hot days of summer. And on one particularly hot day, he stole one of their fans and ran off to lounge under a tree. He hadn’t used one before, so he accidentally gave himself a papercut upon opening it. 

It was then that he came up with the idea to use that same concept but on other people. For the months that followed, he would practice every day by slicing at the side of the tree, doing so until it started to leave significant cut marks in the bark. And from then on, as long as he could find a fan, he would always have a weapon.

As much as Wen Kexing liked Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, he wasn’t exactly comfortable with sharing all that information just yet. So he simply shrugged and gave as general an answer as he could. “I don’t know, I kinda just… figured it out one day when I was younger. I just… taught myself how to do it, I guess.”

Under the table, Zhou Zishu tapped his foot to the side of Wen Kexing’s boot. Wen Kexing turned to look at him, giving him a small smile. 

Across the table, Wei Wuxian was laughing excitedly. “Wow! That’s just so cool! Isn’t that cool, Lan Zhan!?” 

Lan Zhan nodded. “Mn.”

Wei Ying happily threw back another cup of wine. “Damn, I can’t wait to see that in action! Seriously. That is just so cool.”

Wen Kexing smiled, taking a sip of his wine. “You’ll see it tomorrow, I’m sure.”

As the night started to come to an end, Wei Ying told Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu that they would brief them on how to take down a fierce corpse after their final leg of the trip. Then, they all said their goodnights and headed up to their rooms to get some much-needed rest.

Of course, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu only got that rest after finishing what they had started earlier that night. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, the four men made their way to the town Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had been told was having the fierce corpse issue. It only took them about half a day to get there, and as soon as they arrived, they could tell something was definitely wrong. 

The town itself was quite big. There was a large town center with many streets branching off from it, all lined with buildings and shops that showed signs of a large, lively community.

It was midday in autumn. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining. So they had expected to find many people out and about. However, there were barely any people around.

While Lan Wangji, Wen Kexing, and Zhou Zishu scouted out the layout of the town, Wei Wuxian found the only store that seemed to be open and went to ask the shopkeeper some questions. When he returned, it was obvious that he wasn’t thrilled with what he had learned. 

“So, apparently, this fierce corpse is really causing some significant trouble. And because no one knows what it is and where it came from, they were incredibly ill-prepared for it. So, many of the townspeople decided to leave and go to the surrounding towns until it went away.”

Zhou Zishu stood with his arms crossed, staring up and down the empty streets. “Well, at least there are fewer people around to end up as collateral damage, I guess.”

Wei Ying nodded. “Yeah, yeah, that’s a good way to look at it.” 

He walked over to an empty table that was outside an abandoned shop, motioning for everyone to follow him. Once they were all seated, he straightened up as if he was about to make a very serious speech. “Okay, so, here’s the deal. As I mentioned on the day we met, we have a few different kinds of undead where we come from. There are walking corpses, which are corpses that have reanimated. They are very slow. Like painfully slow. Very easy to control and take down.” 

Wen Kexing’s eyes twitched as he heard Wei Wuxian say ‘control.’ It was an odd choice of words that didn’t go unnoticed, but he decided to hold his questions until his companion finished his explanation. 

“Then there are fierce corpses, which are like walking corpses, but worse. Both kinds are reanimated because of the resentful energy that exists inside them. But the resentful energy inside fierce corpses is more powerful, more potent. They are way more difficult to control and depending on how potent their resentful energy is, they can be really hard to take down. Even for the most powerful cultivators. We can usually use spiritual weapons and talismans to fight them. But sometimes, they’re immune to those. Though, that is very rare. Usually, we can at least use those to slow them down.”

Wen Kexing leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table. “You keep saying control. What do you mean?”

“Oh, um, well.” Wei Wuxian looked over to Lan Wangji. They both stared at each other for a minute before Lan Wangji gave his husband a small nod. Wei Ying sighed and nodded back, then turned his attention back to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu. “The cultivators where we’re from have what is called a golden core. Are you familiar with this?”

Zhou Zishu nodded. “I’ve heard about it.”

Wen Kexing shrugged. The martial artists from their area didn’t have this cultivation technique, so he only knew it as a concept from books he read. 

Wei Ying held a hand in front of the top of his stomach. “Well, it’s a core within the body that stores and controls our spiritual energy. We have to form them when we’re young in order to become cultivators. The stronger the core, the stronger the cultivator. But…” He looked over to Lan Wangji for a moment and then continued, his words leaving his mouth very quickly. “Without a golden core, it’s nearly impossible to use spiritual energy the same way, but there are ways to manipulate resentful energy instead.”

Zhou Zishu straightened in his seat. “What? That’s possible?” 

Lan Zhan nodded. “Mn.”

Wei Ying nodded along with his words. “It’s also rare. But yes, it is possible.” 

While watching him talk, Wen Kexing noticed the tiny microexpressions that kept flashing across Wei Ying’s face. It was very clear he was trying very hard to hide something from being revealed through his expressions. Wen Kexing looked over at Lan Zhan, whose eyes were locked on his husband. 

At this point, Wen Kexing had barely spent a total of two days with these men. But it didn’t take much effort to understand that between the two, Wei Wuxian was very expressive with his emotions while Lan Wangji was not. Yet, at this moment, Lan Wangji’s complicated feelings about the topic were clearly expressed through the tiny furrow in his brows and the tightness of his lips.

Wen Kexing turned his gaze back to Wei Ying. “You don’t have a core.”

Wei Ying’s eyes widened slightly. Lan Zhan's gaze snapped away from his husband to stare at Wen Kexing. And to his side, Zhou Zishu just looked at Wen Kexing, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if confused by his sudden exclamation.

Wei Ying opened his mouth, looking as if he was going to say something, but didn’t. He closed his mouth and took a deep breath, then straightened up in his seat. “Well, that’s the complicated part. That I mentioned yesterday.” 

Lan Zhan reached over and placed a hand on his husband’s knee. “Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying quickly moved his hand so he could pat the top of Lan Zhan’s. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I want to tell them. They were going to see me fight eventually. I might as well just tell them now.” He turned his attention back to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu. “We don’t know each other. I don’t know what you both have been through. Or where your opinions on certain things lie. But I just get the feeling that whatever you’ve been through, you can respect and understand a complicated situation. I want to trust you.” 

Zhou Zishu shrugged. “We’ve both done things we don’t like talking about.” Wen Kexing nodded in agreement. 

“I had my golden core removed when I was about 18. To give to my brother, who had lost his. And in order to keep being a cultivator, I figured out how to manipulate resentful energy. But then…” Wei Ying took a deep breath before continuing. “Well. Simply put. I died a few years after that. And was dead for 13 years before the person whose soul originally inhabited this body sacrificed the body to me.”

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu reacted quickly, speaking at the same time. 

“You died!?” 

“13 years!?”

Wei Ying nodded. “Yeah.”

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu looked at each other, both donning incredibly surprised expressions. After taking in everything he had just learned, Wen Kexing turned back to Wei Ying. “So that’s why you look younger.”

Of all the things Wen Kexing could have said, it was clear Wei Ying was surpised that that was what he latched on to as he burst into a surprised laugh. “Yes. That’s why I look younger.” 

Wen Kexing turned back to Zhou Zishu, ready to make another lighthearted comment about the situation. But he was surprised to see that Zhou Zishu was staring at Lan Wangji with a solemn expression. Wen Kexing kept his mouth closed, imagining the thoughts going through his husband’s head.

He and Zhou Zishu had met after Zhou Zishu had inflicted himself with the nails. And they had fallen in love just before he was cured. But what if he had died? Would Wen Kexing have had to endure life without him like Lan Wangji had after Wei Wuxian died? Would Zhou Zishu have returned after thirteen years like Wei Ying had, bringing them together again? 

He reached out and hooked his finger around Zhou Zishu’s pinky. The sudden contact shook Zhou Zishu out of his deep thoughts and he turned to his husband with a surprised expression. Wen Kexing gave him a small smile, and only then did Zhou Zishu’s face soften. 

Across the table, Wei Ying started to explain more about the situation with a little less anxiety in his voice. “So, this body has a golden core. And I have been working to strengthen it over the years. But forming a golden core later in life is more difficult than when you’re younger. That’s why I don’t travel long distances on my sword and prefer to use my flute when I’m fighting. The core is there, but I’m stronger when I manipulate resentful energy.”

Zhou Zishu nodded toward the instrument hanging from Wei Ying’s hip. “So, the flute helps control the resentful energy?” 

Wei Ying took the flute off his hip and held it in front of himself. “Yes, exactly.”

Wen Kexing’s eyebrows furrowed. “Since you can manipulate resentful energy, can’t you just control the fierce ghost, then?”

“No, it’s not that simple.” Wei Ying started twirling the flute between his fingers. “Like I said, the resentful energy inside a fierce corpse is terribly strong and potent. They might not be sentient, but they usually have their own overwhelming motivations for causing harm. So it’s almost impossible to control them. It’s like trying to control a person who doesn’t want to be controlled. I can control other things like walking corpses, which I can manipulate to fight the fierce corpses for me. But I can’t always control the fierce corpses directly, no.”

“That’s…” Wen Kexing was slightly transfixed by the movement of the flute, imagining what it would be like to control energy like that. “That’s wild! You were all excited about me using a fan, but you can LITERALLY control the undead!? Are you kidding me!?” 

Wei Ying chuckled, a light blush growing on his face. He set the flute down before speaking again. “So, you both aren’t upset?”

Zhou Zishu lifted an eyebrow, looking at Wei Ying curiously. “Why would we be upset?”

Wei Ying shrugged. “In my experience, it didn’t matter whether I was fighting people or saving people, I was always deemed evil simply because I was practicing that form of cultivation."

Zhou Zishu leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. “Believe me, we are the last people who are going to cast judgments on whether something is ‘right or wrong.’ I was the head of an assassin organization and did horrible, terrible things in the name of a prince I thought was just but ended up being as corrupt as those who came before him.”

Wen Kexing had been looking at his husband as he talked, noticing the subtle way his mouth twitched angrily as he mentioned the prince. Wen Kexing then turned to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, turning his voice to be a bit more braggadocious in order to lighten the mood a bit, even though he was going to make his own damning admission. 

“I was the Ghost Valley Master, where all those criminals resided. And I manipulated them into leaving the Ghost Valley in order to cause chaos in jianghu as a way of manipulating the martial artists who ruined my family and got them killed, resulting in the death of many of the guilty ‘ghosts’ and martial artists alike.”

At his side, Zhou Zishu let out a quiet chuckle. 

“Oh.” Wei Ying looked surprised by the sudden confessions from his new companions. “Sorry, I didn’t expect this conversation to go so…” There was a long pause where he stared intently between Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing. 

Wen Kexing laughed. “What, you didn’t expect to have picked up two admitted criminals?” 

Wei Ying laughed. “Well, yeah.” As he laughed even louder, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu felt the anxious energy completely dissipate. Wei Ying let out a long sigh as he tried to catch his breath. “I just didn’t expect this.”

Zhou Zishu chuckled, giving Wei Ying a casual shrug. “Understandable.”

Wen Kexing smiled, leaning forward on his elbow again. “So, getting back to the fierce corpse. Since we’ve never encountered one, how best can we help you both? How do we fight it?”

Wei Ying tapped his nose as he thought. “I think it will probably be best if Lan Zhan takes the lead and you follow. We want to contain it, that way we can try to drive out the resentful energy. And if we have to, we’ll need to separate the limbs from the fierce corpse and spread them out in these qiankun pouches. That way it can’t reform on its own. And then we’ll take it to a place where the spiritual energy can be cleansed.” 

Wei Ying handed out a qiankun pouch to each person. Wen Kexing examined it for a moment before throwing it into his sleeve. With a loud clap, Wen Kexing stood up. “Okay. Let’s do this!” 

Zhou Zishu let out an abrupt laugh, rolling his eyes at his husband’s enthusiasm. Wei Ying, however, jumped up from his seat, equally as thrilled as his new friend to get this adventure started. “Yes! Let’s go! Come on, Lan Zhan!”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan slowly got up from his seat, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he went to stand by his enthusiastic husband.

The four men made their way to the edge of town and entered the forest where shopkeeper said the fierce corpse had been last spotted. 

It took them a while to find the middle of the forest, as it was covered in thick shrubbery and was dense with trees, but they finally made it to a clearing. As they looked around, deciding where to head next, they heard a loud rumbling sound coming from somewhere in the distance. 

Wen Kexing spun around, looking toward where he thought the sound came from. “What was that?”

A couple of paces away from him, Zhou Zishu was facing the opposite direction. “It came from over there.”

Across the clearing, Lan Zhan shook his head. “No. That way.”

“Uh oh.” Wei Ying was staring off toward the north end of the clearing. The three other men turned to see what he was looking at. 

From deep within the trees, a fierce corpse slowly started to emerge from the direction Wei Ying was facing. But shortly after, a fierce corpse also emerged from the south, then the west, and then the east.

Wei Ying spun around, looking at all the fierce corpses standing around them. “Four!? Why are there four of them!? How does it go from one to four!?” 

“Uh, what are those?” Zhou Zishu pointed through the trees at a mob of hunched bodies slowly making their way through the forest. 

“Shit!!” Wei Ying shouted, running over to stand by his husband. “Why are there walking corpses!? There weren’t supposed to be walking corpses, too!! What the fuck is going on!?”

The four men backed up until they were all standing together, back to back, watching as the four fierce corpses and an uncomfortable amount of walking corpses started to close in on the clearing. 

Chapter Text

Even though they were surrounded, Wei Ying seemed to get a little more optimistic as he pulled his flute off his hip. “I’ll try to control the walking corpses and use them to fight the fierce corpses! Do what you can and stay safe!” And with that, he leaped into the air, jumping back and forth on the low tree branches until he was high enough to look down at the entire clearing. 

He brought the flute up to his lips and started to play. Down in the clearing, Lan Zhan unsheathed his sword and turned to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu. “Be careful.” Then he turned toward the outside of the clearing, standing at the ready to fight when necessary. Zhou Zishu took out his own sword, and Wen Kexing snapped open his fan, holding it out in front of him, prepared to throw it at any moment. 

The music playing through the air seemed to influence the reanimated walking corpses. Their hunched bodies awkwardly straightened, and then they started to stumble forward. But as they got to the clearing, they stopped moving. Wei Ying started playing faster, but nothing else happened. It was then that it started to become clear that whatever Wei Ying was trying to make them do wasn’t working. 

From the trees, Wei Ying shouted down at them. “Lan Zhan! Try Wangji!!” 

Lan Zhan swiftly sheathed Bichen and pulled his guqin off his back. He held it firmly atop one hand and expertly ran his other fingers over the strings, sending out a loud strum across the clearing. The sound threw all the walking corpses and the four fierce corpses back a few paces. The walking corpses were knocked onto their backs while the fierce corpses simply staggered on their feet. 

“FUCK!” Wei Ying shouted from up in the trees before jumping back down to join the group. “Looks like we’re going to have to do this by hand!! I can’t control them at all!!” 

Without a word, Lan Zhan switched out his guqin for his sword again and lunged forward. Within minutes, he had taken down three walking corpses that were trudging toward the group. Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu saw how easily he was able to take them down and followed suit. 

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu followed Lan Zhan’s lead, just as they were told to do. They swiftly moved about the clearing, taking down as many walking corpses as they could while dodging the fierce corpses that would charge them whenever they got close. But just like Lan Zhan would, they only dodged their attacks and did not make attemtps to attack back. Their task was to focus solely on the walking corpses for the time being. 

Because the walking corpses were slow and cumbersome with their movements, they were able to defeat all of them within minutes. Wen Kexing was surprised by the ease with which they all went down and felt very confident about the situation as they reconvened in the center to catch their breath. He looked over to Wei Ying, who was staring intently at the four corpses spread out along the edge of the clearing, stalking them like a large animal would stalk its prey. “Stay vigilant. These won’t be as easy.”

Lan Wangji charged forward and started to spar with the nearest fierce corpse at the edge of the clearing. Wei Wuxian took a few talismans out from his sleeve and started to throw them about the clearing, hitting the corpses with a blast of energy that momentarily stunned them but did not knock them down. 

After giving each other a quick glance and a nod, Zhou Zishu flew in the opposite direction toward one of the other four fierce corpses. And Wen Kexing ran to the side, charging at the one closest to him. 

Wen Kexing jumped into the air, avoiding the incoming swing of the fierce corpse’s arm. His foot briefly landed on a branch of a nearby tree before pushing off to spin and throw his fan toward the pursuing fierce corpse. The fan spun through the branches and sliced across the torso of the corpse, sending it flying backward a few feet. 

Wen Kexing landed by the outer edge of the clearing, watching carefully as the fierce corpse steadied its footing. If he had been fighting a human, that blow would have severely injured them. But this being wasn’t alive and couldn’t bleed the same way, so it looked barely affected by the attack. As frustrating as it was, Wen Kexing couldn’t help but feel incredibly captivated by his foe. 

The fierce corpse charged at him again, and he managed to dodge its attack and hit it on the shoulder with his hand. The corpse staggered sideways before lunging toward him again. The longer they fought, the more irritated Wen Kexing was getting. All his usual moves, which would have had someone knocked onto their back and bleeding out, weren’t as effective on the corpse. He had to change up his attacking method on the spot.  

Wen Kexing flicked his wrist again to send his fan flying once more toward the fierce corpse. This time the fan hit the corpse against the leg, knocking it out from underneath him. The corpse fell hard against the ground with a loud thud. The fan boomeranged into Wen Kexing’s hand and he brushed some grime off its edge. He looked down at the fierce corpse, which was lying motionless a few paces away. 

He stood there, breathing heavily, as he waited for the corpse to rise again. But long moments of silence passed with the fierce corpse just lying there, not moving at all. Content that the threat was seemingly neutralized, Wen Kexing turned toward the group so he could go help one of his companions with whatever undead being they were fighting. 

At the west end of the clearing, Lan Wangji was spinning around a fierce corpse while Wei Wuxian frantically threw talismans at another one that was closely stalking behind his husband. 

At the south end of the clearing, he saw Zhou Zishu being backed into a tree by one of the other fierce corpses. Wen Kexing wanted to go help him, but he had barely taken one step forward before he felt something grab the back of his robes. 

Suddenly, Wen Kexing was thrown backward, flying through the air until he hit the ground. He felt a sharp pain radiate out from his tailbone and his head hit the ground with a heavy thump, causing the corners of his vision to blur and his ears to ring.

He didn’t have time to catch his breath before the fierce corpse he had been fighting crouched over him, pinning him down as it wrapped its grimy hands around his neck. 

Wen Kexing scratched at the fierce corpse’s hands and arms, trying to ease its hold on him, but nothing he did seemed to affect the being at all. He tried to push himself off the ground, but every time he did, severe pain shot up his spine. 

He tried to call out for help, but his voice was stuck in his throat. He tried to turn his head so he could at least see where Zhou Zishu was, but his husband wasn’t anywhere to be found in his line of sight. 

Wen Kexing looked back up, staring past the decaying face of the fierce corpse above him to look up at the fluttering leaves of the trees overhead. Through some of the branches, he could see the sky, just starting to turn a light shade of purple in the afternoon light. As he struggled to breathe, tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Were tears coming as a result of his strain and effort against his assailant? Or were they coming because he was sad he couldn’t see Zhou Zishu in what felt like his final breaths?

Wen Kexing closed his eyes, trying to reserve his energy for as long as possible. 

At the height of his career, Zhou Zishu had fought some of the most well-trained assassins that the jianghu had to offer. In fact, he had trained most of them, so they were only as good as he had taught them to be. So he was very used to sparring or fighting with the best of the best.  

But fighting a fierce corpse was different. This foe was unrelenting. It never seemed to get tired. It wasn’t phased by injuries like a human would. And no matter how fast he ran from it, it was always close behind. Once it honed in on him as its enemy, it was not going to let him get away. 

Zhou Zishu was a talented martial artist, but he was getting older and he was out of practice. He sparred with Wen Kexing often, but they were never trying to kill each other. So he had been a long time since he attacked something with the intent to kill. And every attack he gave this being didn’t seem to bother it as much as it would have a normal human. So even though he was quite strong, Zhou Zishu was starting to get tired. 

He dodged out of the way of the corpse’s attack. But he dodged to the right when he should have dodged left, and now the fierce corpse had him cornered. He backed up, trying to figure out what his next move was going to be, but his back hit a tree behind him. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do as the fierce corpse stalked forward, preparing to attack. 

Right as the fierce corpse started to lunge forward, something hit its shoulder and it was knocked to the side. Zhou Zishu looked over to see Wei Wuxian standing to his left, holding his flute like a battle ax in the air. “Watch out!”

The first corpse stood up again and sprang forward toward its closest targe. Thankfully, the way Wei Wuxian had knocked the corpse over had given Zhou Zishu a better vantage point for getting out from against the trees, so he could easily dodge its attack with ease. He ran over to take his position by Wei Wuxian, who was intently watching each and every move the fierce corpse was making.

“Next time it lunges, try to cut off the legs!”

Zhou Zishu watched intently as the corpse leaned to the left, then veered to the right and charged toward them. Wei Wuxian jumped up to get out of the way and Zhou Zishu slid to the side, evading the attack and swiping his sword at the corpse’s legs as it passed. 

The left leg of the corpse fell to the ground first, and then the corpse itself lost balance and tumbled forward. It let out a loud angry screech as it started to crawl toward them. Zhou Zishu acted quickly, cutting off both arms at the elbow with one single swipe. The corpse let out another angry, muffled cry as it writhed around on the ground, not able to make any effective movements anymore. 

“Good work! I’ll put these in my pouch and you put the rest in yours!” Wei Ying bent down and started to gather the detached pieces of the fierce corpse's body. 

Zhou Zishu went to pull his qiankun pouch out of his sleeve and looked around to get a sense of how everyone else was doing with their fights. It was then that his eyes locked on his husband. Across the clearing, he could see Wen Kexing lying flat on his back on the ground with a fierce corpse crouched on top of him, with its hands wrapped tightly around Wen Kexing’s throat. 

“Lao Wen!” 

Without a second thought, Zhou Zishu ran as fast as he could toward Wen Kexing. He jumped in the air and kicked the fierce corpse off his husband. The kick was so strong that it knocked the fierce corpse off of Wen Kexing and sent it flying through the air until it slammed against a tree twenty paces away. 

Wen Kexing’s eyes snapped open when he heard a loud thwack. He looked to his side and saw the fierce corpse that had been above him now slumped against a tree, having been thrown against it with significant force. Only then did he realize he could take in a breath again. 

A hand slipped behind his back, helping him to sit up. He winced, feeling pains shoot up his back again as he reached a sitting position. Zhou Zishu gently grabbed Wen Kexing’s chin and moved his head from side to side so he could examine his husband’s neck. As he did so, he had an incredibly angry look on his face.

“A-Xu…” Wen Kexing tried to speak, but his throat was hoarse.

Zhou Zishu shook his head. “What the hell were you doing? You aren’t allowed to die, remember?” 

Wen Kexing smiled softly and nodded as Zhou Zishu helped him back to his feet. Wen Kexing tried to keep the pain he was feeling from showing on his face. He was about to try to say something again, but Zhou Zishu suddenly spun around, sword in hand. While they weren’t looking, the fierce corpse had returned to its feet and was quickly charging toward them. 

However, Zhou Zishu moved faster. He spun on his toes, dodging to the side and weaving his way behind the corpse. In a flash, his sword was whipping through the air. 

Shwing. Shwing. Shwing. 

The fierce corpse stilled, seeming as if it was frozen in place. But then both arms, its left leg, and its head fell to the ground, having been completely separated from its body. A second later, the rest of the body slammed against the forest floor. 

Zhou Zishu ran forward and threw both arms, the leg, and the head into his qiankun pouch. “Lao Wen.” Zhou Zishu held a hand out toward his husband. Immediately realizing what his husband was asking for, Wen Kexing fished his own qiankun pouch out of his sleeve and threw it to Zhou Zishu, who then stuffed the rest of the body inside. 

After he was done, he stuffed the pouches back into his sleeve and walked back to Wen Kexing’s side. Wen Kexing reached out and brushed some of Zhou Zishu’s windswept hair back behind his shoulder. “A-Xu.” Cough, cough. “I forgot how attractive you are…” Cough, cough. “...when you get really vengeful.”

Zhou Zishu smirked and was about to say something. But then from behind, they heard a loud, excited shout. “There’s only one more!” They both spun around and saw Wei Wuxian standing in the center of the clearing as Lan Zhan swiftly maneuvered around the last fierce corpse along the clearing’s edge.

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu ran across the clearing, one going left and the other going right, so that they could attack the corpse from either side. Now that there were three of them taking on one fierce corpse, they were able to take it down very quickly. Within a few minutes, its body was separated into a few pieces and spread out into the various pouches. 

The only sound in the clearing was everyone’s heavy breathing as they all took a minute to catch their breath. Then, all of a sudden, Wei Ying started laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed. And when it didn’t seem like he was going to stop laughing, Wen Kexing started to chuckle, until he was also fully laughing along with his new friend. 

Zhou Zishu looked back and forth between the two men until he also started to laugh along with them. Lan Zhan walked over and placed his arm around Wei Ying’s waist, his eyes slightly crinkled and lips upturned just a bit at the corners. 

As Wen Kexing tried to catch his breath, he leaned over and rested his forehead on Zhou Zishu’s shoulder. He really didn't want to admit it, but the impact his back had when he was thrown to the ground was hurting him more than expected. And all the laughing was making him feel sore. Hiding his face in Zhou Zishu's shoulder would at least keep everyone from seeing him grimace in pain.

Zhou Zishu reached up and patted him on the head, letting out a few final breathy chuckles. 

“That was…” Zhou Zishu trailed off. He didn’t exactly know what word to use to describe everything that had just happened. Wen Kexing stood back up, resting his arm on Zhou Zishu’s shoulder. He looked at his husband and nodded as if he also understood the complexity of Zhou Zishu's feelings toward the situation. 

Wei Ying leaned into his husband’s hold on his waist, letting Lan Zhan support him. Other than some heavy breathing, he seemed to be completely fine, but was playing up his exhaustion so that Lan Zhan would keep holding him. “I’m so sorry we dragged you both into this insanity! If I had known it was going to be that many corpses at once, I would have approached this differently.”

Wen Kexing shook his head emphatically. “Don’t be sorry. That was the most exciting thing we’ve done in years.” 

Zhou Zishu side-eyed him. “Almost dying is exciting?”

“Being saved by you is exciting.” Wen Kexing winked at his husband, earning him a very dramatic eye roll. 

Wei Ying chuckled, leaning further into Lan Zhan’s side. Lan Zhan looked down at him with a soft expression. “We should leave.”

“Oh! Yes, yes. You’re right. Good idea, Lan Zhan. Let’s take care of the walking corpses first.” 

Wei Ying sat on the ground and brought his flute up to his lips. He started to play a soft, calming song while Lan Zhan joined him on the ground, setting his guqin across his lap. They started their duet, playing a beautiful, calming song that filled the air around them. 

All around the clearing were the bodies of the many walking corpses they had fought earlier. As the song played, wisps of what looked like black smoke started to rise from their bodies. Slowly but surely, the black wisps started to thin out and dissipate as the resentful energy was cleared. Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu watched in awe, having never seen anything like it. 

Once they were finished, Wei Ying attached his flute back to his hip and Lan Zhan returned his guqin to be carried on his back. Then Wei Ying hooked his arm around Lan Zhan’s elbow. “Okay! Shall we?” 

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu simply nodded, at a loss for words about what they’d just witnessed. They just quietly followed Wei Ying and Lan Zhan out of the clearing as they led the way back toward the edge of the forest and back to town. 

As they walked, Wen Kexing noticed that Zhou Zishu was clenching his jaw and his hand was tightly gripped into a fist. Wen Kexing immediately stopped, grabbing Zhou Zishu by the arm. “A-Xu? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

He examined Zhou Zishu for injuries but found nothing. He furrowed his brows in confusion, searching Zhou Zishu’s face. “A-Xu?”

Zhou Zishu ground his teeth and then hung his head. He took a deep breath before looking back up at his husband. “You’re stronger than any of those stupid corpses! Why did you let one attack you like that!?”

Wen Kexing’s face fell. “A-Xu…” 

“You’re too strong for that nonsense! Where was the ruthless killer I met five years ago!?” The corners of Zhou Zishu’s eyes were turning red as he angrily yelled at his husband. 

“A-Xu.” Wen Kexing’s voice was barely a whisper. Everything Zhou Zishu had said after he had saved Wen Kexing seemed to be lighthearted and in jest, so Wen Kexing was taken aback by the sudden seriousness in his husband's demeanor and voice.

“You-” Zhou Zishu took in a sharp breath. “You’re too strong to just die like that, Wen Kexing!”

Wen Kexing’s heart lurched. He didn’t know what to say, so he just leaned forward and pulled Zhou Zishu into a kiss. It was short, but it was enough when he started to feel Zhou Zishu slowly relax. 

He pulled back and rested his forehead against Zhou Zishu’s. “I’m sorry.”

Zhou Zishu shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. I just…” His voice trailed off. 

Wen Kexing leaned back and nodded. “I know.” Zhou Zishu didn’t need to explain what he meant because Wen Kexing knew that feeling intimately. Both of them had watched the other almost die, and neither of them wanted to live that nightmare again. 

“But really, how did it manage to get the upper hand like that? They didn’t seem that smart.”

“I just… I thought I had subdued it. I underestimated how resilient they were going to be. And I saw that you were cornered and was going to go help you so I had my back turned.” Wen Kexing shifted on his feet, finding that standing for this long was started to become difficult.

“If I had needed your help, I would have said so. You should have been focusing on yourself.”

“A-Xu. Since when have I needed your permission in order to want to help you?” Wen Kexing tilted his head, waiting for Zhou Zishu to argue back. 

But Zhou Zishu said nothing because there really wasn’t anything for him to say. There was nothing he could say to change the fact that no matter what, Wen Kexing would always be there to help him and fight by his side, whether he needed it or not. 

Wen Kexing nudged Zhou Zishu with his elbow. “Can you stop reprimanding me?” Then he put a hand on Zhou Zishu's shoulder, using it to support his weight as he tilted foward. “Your wife was injured when that fierce corpse threw me back.”

Zhou Zishu let out a small breath of amusement, but his eyebrow's creased when he realized Wen Kexing wasn't making a joke. He reached forward to take Wen Kexing by the elbow, leading him forward. “I’ll check it when we get to town, okay? Let your husband take care of it then.” Wen Kexing nodded with a small smile and allowed his husband to lead him through the forest. 

A couple of paces ahead, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were waiting for them. Wei Ying’s brow furrowed when he saw Zhou Zishu’s hand holding onto Wen Kexing’s elbow. “Everything okay?”

Zhou Zishu shook his free hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, all is fine. Don’t worry.” 

Wei Ying looked apprehensive to leave it at that, so he looked in Wen Kexing’s direction. Wen Kexing shook his head. “It’s fine. I’m just a little sore.”

“Ah. I see.” Wei Ying turned toward Lan Zhan. “It’s too bad we aren’t back in Gusu. We could send them to the cold pond to heal.”

Lan Zhan looked down at him and gave Wei Ying a small nod. “Mn.” 

When they got back to town, Wei Ying ran back to the shopkeeper he had spoken to earlier and explained what happened. From where they stood, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing could see how confused the man was by whatever he was being told. But by the end of his conversation with Wei Ying, he seemed to at least accept the information, even though he may not have understood it. 

Wei Ying ran back with a smile on his face. “He said that the innkeeper left, but there is another inn outside of town that is still open. Are you okay to walk that far?”

Wen Kexing laughed, puffing up his chest to look stronger. “Yes, of course. I’m fine.” But as soon as everyone agreed to keep going to the next inn, he slumped back into his husband’s side. Zhou Zishu rolled his eyes, but quickly put his arm around Wen Kexing’s waist to continue giving him support.

They found the inn and had no problems getting a room, seeing as all the townspeople and any visitors had all been scared off. Before heading upstairs, the innkeeper gave them some food to help replenish their energy from their intense fight. 

Then, once they had all eaten their fill, they made their way to their separate rooms for the night. Before Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing went into their room, Wei Ying stopped them. “Thank you for again your help. And no matter what you say, I will feel guilty for dragging you into it because it was way way way more than expected. But I do really appreciate everything you both did. It would have been so much worse if you both weren’t there. Really. Thank you.” 

Lan Zhan nodded in agreement. “Mn.”

Zhou Zishu nodded in return. “No need to thank us. We were happy to help.”

And with that, the other couple left for their own room, and Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu were finally alone. Zhou Zishu walked Wen Kexing over to the bed and gently helped him to sit down. This time, Zhou Zishu didn't miss when Wen Kexing winced in pain. He nodded, jutting his chin out toward Wen Kexing’s shoulders. “ Just fine, my ass. You can barely sit down. Take off your robes. Let me see.” 

When Wen Kexing went to remove his robes, he felt a sharp pain run up his back. He winced again and grabbed his own shoulder as he waited for the pain to pass. Zhou Zishu’s face tensed for a moment, but then he visibly tried to soften his features so as to not look upset. He gently took the lapels of Wen Kexing’s robes in his hands. “Here. I’ll do it.” 

He slowly removed the top of Wen Kexing’s robes until they were pooled around his waist and his entire back was visible. With the robes off, Zhou Zishu could see that there was a huge black and blue bruise about the size of his palm over Wen Kexing’s tailbone. 

Zhou Zishu let out a frustrated huff while touching the bruise lightly with his fingertips. “Damned corpse.” 

“Is it bad?” Wen Kexing tried to twist so he could see, but doing so only made the pain worse. 

Zhou Zishu pushed at his husband’s shoulder to keep him facing forward. “Well, it isn’t great.” He got up from the bed and started to bring hot water in to fill the tub in their room. Once it was filled, he slowly helped Wen Kexing get into it. 

“This feels strange.” Wen Kexing tapped the edge of the tub with his fingers.

Zhou Zishu tied Wen Kexing’s hair up into a bun so that it wouldn’t get too wet. “What feels strange?” 

There was a long stretch of silence while Zhou Zishu gently washed Wen Kexing’s back and shoulders, making sure not to press to firmly on the bruise.

“It was me washing you for a long time. While you healed. Now it’s switched…” Wen Kexing put his hand under the water and lifted it up again, letting the water in his palm fall through his fingers. “It feels strange.”

Zhou Zishu leaned forward and rested his chin on Wen Kexing’s shoulder. “Would you rather I be the one who got hurt and you be the one to wash me?” 

Wen Kexing rolled his eyes and turned slightly so he could look at Zhou Zishu, making sure not to twist his back too much. “No. I don’t know if I would survive seeing you hurt like that again.” 

Zhou Zishu reached forward. There was a stray piece of Wen Kexing’s hair stuck to his forehead due to the steam of the bath. He moved it from out of his face and brushed it behind his ear. “So you understand how I feel, then?” 

Wen Kexing stared at him for a moment, not moving or saying anything. Then he just gave him a small nod and shifted to face forward again. 

Zhou Zishu smiled to himself and then put his hands on Wen Kexing’s back so he could send him a steady stream of qi to help his husband heal. 

Just like Wen Kexing had done for him during his recovery all those years ago. 

Chapter Text

“So, what are you going to do now?” Wen Kexing followed his question with a large bite of his breakfast. 

Across the table, Wei Ying was organizing all four qiankun pouches on the table in front of him, making sure they were tied as tightly as possible. “Well, we’re going to take them back to Gusu with us and try to cleanse the resentful energy. Then we’ll try to figure out why there were so many in an area that has never had them before.”

At his side, Lan Zhan’s brows were furrowed as he watched his husband arrange and rearrange the pouches. After a few more double checks of the ties, he finally reached out and took two of them and placed them inside his sleeve for safekeeping. Wei Ying smiled up at him before taking the other two and quickly doing the same. 

Zhou Zishu took a sip of tea before chiming in. “So, do you have any theories as to why it would suddenly appear like this?”

“Do you think…” Wen Kexing swallowed his food before he continued. “Do you think it was just a random occurrence? Or is it possible it was done on purpose?”

Zhou Zishu looked at his husband with a confused expression. “What, you mean like someone let them loose?”

Wen Kexing shrugged. “Is that so crazy? We know Wei Ying can control them. What if that same practice made it all the way over here and someone was using that kind of cultivation to manipulate resentful energy and terrorize someone?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Mn. It is possible." He turned to look at Wei Ying. "You could not control the walking corpses.” Lan Zhan’s face looked pensive. “And Wangji did not work.” 

“That is true!! It is definitely a possibility!!” Wei Ying grabbed onto Lan Zhan’s arm. Across the table, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing looked confused but were anticipating an explanation. 

“I should have easily been able to control the walking corpses with my flute, but I couldn’t. And Lan Zhan’s guqin is very powerful and can usually take down walking corpses with barely a note. And its usually one of the most effective weapons for subduing fierce corpses. We usually don’t even have to do that much! He can just…” Wei Ying threw his hands out over the table as if he was playing the guqin himself. “...knock them out almost immediately.”

While Wei Ying spoke, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu silently listened, eating their food and nodding along with what Wei Ying was saying.

“So, that is our biggest clue. It definitely seems like someone else was controlling them. And who knows, maybe they weren’t trying to just target one person. It is possible they wanted to terrorize the entire town. The shopkeeper yesterday said they kept spotting them in a bunch of places. Which at the time didn’t make sense because I thought it was only one. But because it was four fierce corpses AND a bunch of walking corpses, it makes more sense that they were being sent to different areas of town at the same time to terrorize more people at once.” 

Wei Ying used his hands dramatically as he continued. “The only other possibility is that they gained sentience. But it really didn’t seem like it, so I’m going with they were being controlled.”

Zhou Zishu choked on his tea. “I’m sorry, what?”

Wei Ying’s eyebrows shot up. “What? OH! HAHA! Did I not… did I not mention that yesterday? HAHA! Oops!” He scratched at the nape of his neck. “I figured out how to restore sentience in fierce corpses… But I’ve only done it once!!! Then this other crazy guy figured out how to do it, too. And also figured out how to control them using these stupid nails stuck into their skulls.” Wei Ying shivered. 

Wen Kexing noticed Zhou Zishu go still in his seat at the mention of nails being stuck into a body. 

“But that guy died, so it definitely isn’t him doing this. And everyone else that knew how to control them also died. Or at least, the ones I was aware of. Really, I’m the only one I KNOW of at the moment that can do it. And it definitely wasn’t me, obviously!” Wei Ying shook his hands defensively in front of his body.

“So…” Wen Kexing leaned forward on both elbows, clasping his hands together in front of his face. He pressed his hands against his chin as he thought. “There is a very strong possibility that someone in the area figured out how to control these fierce corpses so that they could terrorize this town. That’s what you’re saying?”

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan nodded simultaneously. 

“Okay.” Wen Kexing nodded. “Well, you go back and see what you can do about these, and we’ll keep an ear out for any information that might spread through the country. Now that they have been spotted AND eradicated, I’m sure the news will travel quickly.”

Zhou Zishu tapped his finger against the rim of his tea cup. “And if it is someone trying to cause trouble, they won’t be happy that they’ve been thwarted.” 

Lan Zhan nodded. “Mn.” 

“Please let us know as soon as possible if you hear anything. We will come back as quickly as we can.” Wei Ying spoke enthusiastically, looking both worried and excited at the same time.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were traveling back to the same town they had all initially met, but Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu had to leave them halfway to go north in order to get back to the Four Seasons Manor. They stopped at a spring to get some water and rest before eventually going their separate ways. 

“It was really such a treat to meet you both. And again, thank you so much for your help! I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repay you for assisting us through such a strange situation.” Wei Ying bowed toward his new friends. Lan Zhan bowed along with him. 

“Please, it really was no trouble.” Zhou Zishu bowed. 

Wen Kexing returned their bow. “Trust me, it was the most fun we’ve had in years. We were very happy to help.”

Wei Ying smiled a large, bright smile at them both. “I hope to see you both again soon, dear friends. Safe travels!” 

Lan Zhan nodded, giving them a tiny, polite smile. “Mn.” 

And with that, the two cultivators left to go east, and Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu made their way north. 

It took a full day to get back to the manor. As soon as they got home, Wen Kexing plopped down on their bed with a dramatic thump. Zhou Zishu went to lie down next to him, doing it much less dramatically. 

Wen Kexing rolled over until he could hide his face in Zhou Zishu’s shoulder. “I hope we get to see them again. I think having friends would be good for us.” 

Zhou Zishu smirked. “What? Am I boring you already?”

Wen Kexing popped up, looking down at his husband with narrowed eyes. “You could never bore me, A-Xu. My life has been nothing but excitement since I’ve met you. Even when life gets slow. As long as you’re around, I’m never bored. But everyone needs friends sometimes. Chengling will probably get married at some point and then it will be JUST the two of us. Don’t you want someone else around that you can complain about me to? I bet Lan Zhan would listen to you complai-” 

Zhou Zishu leaned forward, capturing his husband’s lips in a kiss. Wen Kexing was startled at first, but then quickly melted into it. Then he shifted until he was positioned on his back with Zhou Zishu lying on top of him. He wrapped his arms around his husband, pulling him in even closer as he kissed him more deeply. 

Zhou Zishu smiled into the kiss, chuckling into Wen Kexing’s mouth. Wen Kexing pulled back with a smile on his face. 

“Friends will be good for us. I agree.” 

“Good. I’m glad. Now forget friends and pay attention to your wife. We were supposed to be playing the last few days. We have seriously wasted a lot of time.” He winked up at his husband as he leaned forward and kissed him again. 

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji made it back to Gusu three days later,  with the four full qiankun pouches in tow. They were able to successfully cleanse the corpses and store them properly until they could eventually return them to their proper burial sites. Then they got to work researching what could have been the possible cause of their sudden appearance. 

A month later, Wei Ying received a letter.

“Lan Zhan! I got a letter from Zhou Zishu. He said there was another spotting in town just south of where we found those other corpses!”