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“So,” Jin Zixuan clears his throat as he awkwardly looks at the composed Lan sitting a few feet away from him. “Are you injured anywhere, young master Lan?”
Lan Wangji, the second Jade of Gusulan, shakes his head, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that they are currently held prisoner by a group of rogue cultivators.
This all starts because there had been a few fierce corpse cases in a town settled between Gusu and Yueling. As a part of their extracurricular learning in Gusu, a handful of disciples had been sent out to deal with the problem along with a senior Lan disciple to oversee them.
The fierce corpses disrupting village life were easy to dispatch, almost like a warm-up exercise to the talented young cultivators sent by the Lan sect. However, they weren’t the only ones who traveled into the town to dispatch the menace.
Soon, they came face-to-face with rogue cultivators from the West. The Lan disciple in-charge graciously decides to withdraw and give the task to the more experienced cultivators but the rogue cultivators see them as an opportunity to get their hands on high-quality weapons, talismans, and protection robes.
With an underhanded trick they learned from years of rogue cultivation, they gravely injure the senior Lan and holds half of the group hostage. They make the other half give up their swords with threats of hurting their comrades. While they ransacked the outer robes, talismans, and swords of the young cultivators, one of the men sees the mark on Jin Zixuan’s forehead and realizes they had the sole heir of the Jin clan in their hands.
“Oh? The young master of the Jin clan?” One man grins greedily as he looks Jin Zixuan up and down, “The Jin clan is the richest of all five sects. We can use you as ransom.”
The Jin disciples exchange fearful looks and a few Lan disciples moved closer to Lan Wangji, as though to keep him out of view. One of the rogue cultivators looks at the group of Lan disciples curiously.
“Could we be lucky enough to have the Lan clan heir here as well?”
“I heard the two jades of Lan are incomparable in beauty,” The leader of the rogue cultivators steps forward and grabs Lan Wangji’s face. There were sounds of protests around them but Lan Wangji’s expression remains neutral, though his eyes were cold. “This one definitely stands out.”
He looks over Lan Zhan’s face, eyes lingering on the forehead ribbon with its unique cloud pattern, “And his ribbon definitely looks different from the others.”
He grabs Lan Wangji by the front of his robes and throws him to the side. The other men grab Jin Zixuan and drag him to where Lan Wangji is.
“What do we do with the rest? Kill them?”
The leader snorts, “Let them go. We’ve taken what we needed and they can be the ones to tell their sects that we have their precious heirs.”
A nervous rogue asks, “Are you sure? We’ll have two major sects on our tail if we do this. We can just get their things and run.”
“I’m not giving up an opportunity like this.” The leader argues, “If we get what we want, we can be set for life! If it goes wrong, we have a full-proof escape plan, so there’s no harm in trying.”
He grabs a paper from another subordinate and lists his demands. He gives it to a shaking disciple, “Give this to your clan head. One of my men will meet them at the inn. If they try anything funny, their heirs will pay for it.”
And so, the men took Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji deep into the forest and trap them inside a cave. They put up talismans to prevent them from escaping and take their outer robes and any other weapons and talismans they may have with them. The two heirs are left with nothing but the inner layers of their robes.
Back to the present, the two of them have been here for at least a few hours.
“We might be here for a while,” Jin Zixuan says to the quiet second Lan master. He knows he is stating the obvious but he doesn’t want to sit in another few hours of silence. “I don’t know how any of the disciples will be able to go and call for help though, since these rogues took almost everything we had.”
“Emergency flares.”
Jin Zixuan throws him a surprised look, he wasn’t expecting an answer. “I saw them take that too.”
“Lan Min,” Lan Wangji explains further, “he hid one.”
Jin Zixuan sighs in relief, “well, at least we can expect help soon.”
Silence again. The Jin heir grumbles and then looks at Lan Wangji, who seems to have decided to meditate in this dire circumstances. He sighs again and gets up to look around the cave. He knows the rogue cultivators outside set up talismans to prevent them from escaping but he just couldn’t sit around and do nothing.
In the end, all Jin Zixuan finds out is that the cave is even more disgusting than he first thought. He confirms that there really isn’t a way out unless they had their swords or some talismans to counteract the trapping array the rogues drew all over the cave. All they really could do for now is sit here and wait for someone to rescue them.
The helplessness rankles him and he sits back down in a huff, grimacing in disgust at the rough and slightly wet floor. The inside of the cave is cold and the air slightly smells of mold. He is thankful that the rogues didn’t ask them to seal off their cores. Through inedia they can at least warm themselves up and fight off hunger if their captors decide not to bring them any food to eat until their rescuers arrive.
He falls into a stupor after that, too uncomfortable to fall asleep but too tired to keep awake. A movement in front of him jolts him to full consciousness and he automatically shifts to grab his weapon-
Lan Wangji gives him an impassive look. Jin Zixuan's tens shoulders relax but he tenses up again when the young master Lan places a handful of berries and mushrooms on his lap and says, “eat.”
Jin Zixuan jolts in surprise at the single word and he looks down distrustfully, “Wha- are you sure these are safe to eat?”
Lan Wangji says nothing, just pointedly sits down and starts to eat his own portion. The Jin heir observes him for a few moments before he looks down at the food on his lap. They seem safe but... He grimaces as he picks one up. The berry looks harmless but he has never seen this type before. He knows the younger Lan is often fond of going off in isolation to improve his cultivation, so he may have picked up some things on foraging.
Jin Zixuan swallows his pride and eats one berry. Who knows when their rescue party will come by to save them? Regardless of having a high enough cultivation to fight off hunger, he still needs to keep his energy up.
The food Lan Wangji picks for them isn’t half bad. It tastes mild and it slightly fills his empty stomach. When he finishes, he turns to Lan Wangji who has gone back to meditating.
He clears his throat and the second Jade turns to him with a neutral expression. Words of gratitude refuse to come out, so he nods his thanks instead. Lan Wangji graciously returns his thanks with a single, slow nod. Jin Zixuan sighs in relief.
Although the other young man is too quiet, he isn’t bad company at all.
Jin Zixuan keeps track of time by how Lan Wangji sleeps and wakes up. A few minutes after finishing their food, Lan Wangji seems to have drifted off while maintaining his meditative pose. The proud cultivator wonders how he can sleep in such an uncomfortable place. He wonders if he should help Lan Wangji lie down but then he looks at the slightly wet cave floor and frowns in disgust.
Falling asleep sitting up is the best option after all.
Jin Zixuan is awakened from his light doze when Lan Wangji gets up. The Jin heir shakes his head to get rid of the fog of sleepiness. It must be five in the morning already. The travel from Gusu to the town takes two days, one day if their rescuers hurry.
Time passes slowly. Two rogue cultivators come by to check if they are still alive but none of them offer up any food or blankets.
“Do you think you’re staying in some luxurious inn or something, young master?” One of them sneers at Jin Zixuan when he demands to at least have something to lie on. “You’re hostages. You’ll get your food and blankets at home when your sects pay up.”
Jin Zixuan scowls at him and the man just laughs and spits in his direction.
The Jin heir steps back quickly, thankful for his fast reflexes. He gives the man a disgusted look and the rogue cultivator just laughs at him again and leaves.
With their captor out of sight, Jin Zixuan’s shoulders slump and he goes back to his place. He glances at Lan Wangji who returns his stare evenly.
“I guess we’ll be sleeping sitting up and hungry again tonight,” Jin Zixuan huffs. The Lan heir gets up and thoughtfully covers the spit on the ground with a patch of dirt. Then he goes to the other side of the cave and washes his hands with the water dripping from a few of the cave’s stalactites.
After his hands are clean, Lan Wangji heads towards a certain direction. Curious, Jin Zixuan follows him and sees him bend down peering through a crack on the cave wall about a feet long.
“We can’t escape through there,” Jin Zixuan blurts out his first thought. The lack of water and food is getting to him and it has muddled his thoughts. Lan Wangji doesn’t glare at him for stating the obvious, instead he pulls something from the crack and allows Jin Zixuan to kneel beside him.
The Jin heir blinks when he is presented with the berries from last time, “This… These are the berries we ate last night.” He peers through the cracks and sees a bush of berries almost pushing through the gap. Below the bush, within arm’s reach, is a cluster of mushrooms. His mouth waters despite the fact that the berries and mushroom barely tasted like anything, “Young master Lan, I’m glad you know which food are edible in this cave.”
He picks a berry and is about to put in into his mouth, but Lan Wangji grabs his wrist and shakes his head.
“Wash first,” he says.
Jin Zixuan flushes in embarrassment, “I-I knew that!” He snaps. He grabs more berries and mushroom before gets up to wash them. Lan Wangji follows after him when he finishes picking too.
However, when Jin Zixuan finishes washing the handful of food he got and is about to eat one, a loud noise outside surprises him and he drops the food he is holding. He curses angrily. Lan Wangji shoots him an unimpressed look and is about to scold him but the hungry Jin heir cuts him off, “I know! Swearing is forbidden but we’re not in Gusu and I’m hungry!”
Lan Wangji sighs and raises a finger to his lips wordlessly telling him to keep quiet and listen. Outside there are raised voices.
Jin Zixuan looks to the entrance of the cave hopefully, fallen food instantly forgotten, “They’re here?”
Lan Wangji hums in affirmative as he sets down his own food and looks to the entrance, just as a few rogues come in.
“Your sects are here to pick you up,” One smirks at them. “They want to see that their young masters are hale and healthy before they give us our money.”
Jin Zixuan scowls at the rogues, when one tries to grab him he pulls away. Lan Wangji keeps his chin up and walks forward without prompt. He skillfully dodges the hand trying to take hold of him.
“Cooperate or we’ll kill you, screw the money,” One of them points their sword at Lan Wangji’s throat. The Lan heir coolly gazes back and Jin Zixuan doesn’t fight when he is grabbed again. Lan Wangji frowns in displeasure as he’s yanked forward by the robes.
Outside, they’re thrown to the ground unceremoniously. There are sounds of protests. Jin Zixuan’s face heats in frustration while Lan Wangji dusts himself quietly. “Here are your brats,” more swords are pointed at the two. “Now, where’s our money?”
“Hey now,” a familiar voice makes Jin Zixuan look up in surprise and annoyance. Sure enough, for some stupid reason, Wei Wuxian is a part of their rescue group. “You’d think with the amount of money you’re demanding, you would treat these young masters better.”
The leader of the rogues scoffs, “this isn’t a fancy inn, we don’t cater to the rich. And they did get VIP treatment, we didn’t torture them, did we?”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes harden and he turns to Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji. He gives them a falsely cheerful smile, “hey peacock, how’re you holding up?”
Jin Zixuan is tempted to snap at him sarcastically but then a sword is pointed at his face. With it, the rogue tips his chin up, forcing him to expose his neck vulnerably.
“Enough chitchat!” The leader growls impatiently, “you’ve seen the brats! Now hand over the money!”
“So impatient!” Wei Ying crosses his arms, “I was only making sure that your claims are true!”
“Master Wei,” A gentle voice scolds them. Jin Zixuan sees Lan Wangji’s focus turn to the speaker. The Jin heir follows his gaze and sure enough, young master Lan Xichen steps forward with a frown on his usually smiling face. "Please, it’s not wise to antagonize them.”
Wei Wuxian frowns but he does not argue against the eldest Lan brother. He steps back graciously, allowing Lan Xichen to take control of the situation.
Jin Zixuan sighs in relief. What was that Jiang disciple brat doing here anyway? This was the Jin and Lan clan’s responsibility, he didn’t need to tag along. He probably came by to watch Jin Zixuan make a fool of himself or something.
“Sir,” Lan Xichen’s expression is polite as ever but there is a light in his eyes that tells Jin Zixuan how seriously he is taking the entire situation. “We have the money here. Please hand over our young masters and we will give you the money.”
The rogue leader grins greedily and he grabs Jin Zixuan by the neck collar. There are shouts of protests. The Jin heir starts to choke at the harsh grip and he sees Lan Wangji move towards him to help, but another rogue cultivator pushes the Lan cultivator to the ground harshly. He hears Wei Wuxian make a sound of outrage and when he looks at Lan Xichen, his lips are pursed into a thin line.
“There is no need for violence.” Lan Xichen says in a strained voice.
“Just be thankful it’s not worse.” The rogue cultivator warns. Wei Wuxian glares at him and Lan Xichen’s eyes flash, though his expression remains neutral. In this moment, Jin Zixuan sees how people can mistake the two Lan brothers for twins sometimes.
As the rogue leader drags him towards the neutral point where money and hostage are to be exchanged, Jin Zixuan sees someone in the familiar robes of his sect slowly approaching from the blind spot of the rogue cultivators. The disciple looks like he intends to do a reckless one-man rescue. The disciple gives him a signal to keep quiet and smiles at him in reassurance. Jin Zixuan tries really hard to convey with his face how he thinks this disciple is an idiot and he should get away while the rogue cultivators’ attentions are elsewhere.
He isn’t the only one who notices, more than half of their rescue party are frozen in disbelief, even Wei Wuxian is struck speechless by the reckless move.
Their rescue party tries not to bring attention to the lone cultivator but a rogue turns and sees the attempted ambush. He opens his mouth to yell a warning and Jin Zixuan does the only thing he can think of to save the idiot:
He kicks the leader of the rogue cultivators in the nuts.
Chaos erupts.
Jin Zixuan is let go abruptly and the leader roars in anger. Lan and Jin cultivators immediately rush forward to give him aid, others disperse to back up the Jin cultivator who tried to do something reckless. Wei Wuxian lets out a wild laugh, as expected of the idiot, and Lan Xichen disposes of the nearest five rogue cultivators.
The rogue cultivators’ skills weren’t anything to laugh at, as proof, a few from the rescue party are seriously injured. Someone grabs Jin Zixuan to steer him to safety but a rogue cultivator wielding two short swords incapacitates the Jin disciple. HIs ally pushes him out of the way.
Once again, Jin Zixuan finds himself thrown to the ground, still weaponless. He is angry, and frustrated at not being able to do anything with so many lives on the line.
A loud yell of warning and he looks up just in time to see someone swinging a sword towards him. He holds up his arms in defense-
-but then there is a flash of white and Jin Zixuan looks up and realizes he is still alive. Something warm drips on his face and he looks up to see that Lan Wangji has caught the blade with his bare hands. The warmth on his face is the young master Lan’s blood.
“Lan Wangji!” Jin Zixuan yells out in distress as he stumbles to stand up. His shout captures most of everyone’s attention.
Lan Xichen’s eyes widen, he almost drops his sword, “Wangji!”
Lan Wangji grunts and sweeps the person’s legs, making him stumble back. He kicks him away and jumps back himself. He holds his injured hands to his chest, getting blood on his white inner robes. Jin Zixuan can’t believe his hands are intact after that reckless move.
But then he notices that Lan Wangji’s hands are glowing and understands immediately. He gathered his spiritual energy into his hands before receiving the attack. So, even though the wound might be deep, there is a good chance he wouldn’t lose his hands after all.
Two people push past Jin Zixuan. One is Lan Xichen who immediately gathers Lan Wangji’s injured hands into his own. Lan Wangji flinches and tries to pull away, especially when the blood begins to stain his older brother’s robes, but the older brother’s grip is firm.
The other, Jin Zixuan realizes when he looks up, is an angry Wei Wuxian. The darkly clad cultivator slashes the rogue cultivator who injured Lan Wangji and pushes him to the ground. He steps on the other’s arm and points his sword at his throat. Jin Zixuan looks around and realizes that the fight is winding down. A few rogue cultivators have escaped, including their leader, but the rest have been bound. There are a few on their side who have sustained heavy injuries.
He approaches Lan Wangji after making certain that it was safe. “Second young master Lan, thank you, you saved my life,” he puts together his hands in salute. Regardless of what others (Wei Wuxian) think of him, he does have some manners. He may have trouble expressing gratitude sometimes but he is truly grateful to Lan Wangji for coming in between him and the danger, so the words of thanks are somehow easier to say right now.
Lan Wangji nods his head in acknowledgment, his hands still held in Lan Xichen’s.
“Young master Jin,” Lan Xichen turns his gaze to him and surveys him up and down. “I’m sorry we took too long. We came as soon as we could.”
“No, it’s fine. I understand,” Jin Zixuan tells him. Before Lan Xichen could ask him if he was all right, he says, “I’m fine. How about those disciples with us? Are they all right?”
Lan Xichen’s lips purse in regret, “Sadly, the senior who accompanied you, died of complications from his wounds,” he closes his eyes in grief. “We couldn’t get our best healer to him on time.”
Jin Zixuan is shocked, “I-” He struggles with words, “I wish we could have done something more.”
“The rest are being seen to now.” Lan Xichen says firmly, “We brought the best medics we could in such short notice.”
Jin Zixuan nods, “my parents, have they been informed?”
Lan Xichen answers in affirmative, “Madam Jin wanted to come right away but your father-” He hesitates, “He could not be found when the letter arrived, so she had to stay behind to manage sect affairs. She also did not want to slow down the rescue team. There is a chance your father is only hearing of the news now. Madam Jin took charge and sent over the fastest cultivators and doctors to aid us.”
The Jin heir scowls in disgust, hands forming into fists. His father- at such a time- He inhales deeply and shakes his head. There are more important things to think about right now. There is no use in dwelling on his father’s disgusting ‘reasons’ for not being there when his life was in danger.
“Your father is really something, huh? Disappearing when he’s needed the most,” The unwelcome voice of Wei Wuxian interrupts their conversation.
“Master Wei,” Lan Xichen says in a warning tone. Wei Wuxian merely shrugs it off.
He wasn’t wrong, but Jin Zixuan glares at him anyway.
“Anyway, let’s leave this chitchat for later. Lan Zhan needs a doctor,” Wei Wuxian rummages inside his robes for something and takes out a pouch of emergency herbs. He gives the quiet Lan heir a worried look, “do your injuries hurt a lot, Lan Zhan?”
“I am fine,” Lan Zhan says and Jin Zixuan looks at his hands only to wince at the amount of blood. “Others first.”
“Wangji…”
Wei Wuxian frowns and takes out the herbs from the pouch, “Young master Lan, please hold Lan Zhan still, I’ll perform first aid on his hands.”
“Wei Ying-” Lan Wangj starts to argue but he is interrupted when Lan Xichen does what the Jiang disciple asks. “Brother, I am fine.”
Lan Xichen merely shakes his head and gives his brother a pleading look. The worry makes Lan Wangji deflate in compliance. Wei Wuxian cleans the wound with a clean cloth in the pouch before he starts applying the herbs.
Jin Zixuan watches the proceedings with interest. He knows that he is of no use here right now and maybe he should go and check on the other cultivators injured, but it would be rude to leave without saying anything, especially after Lan Wangji saved his life. He is just waiting for them to finish before excusing himself.
He impatiently watches Wei Wuxian’s clumsy attempt at first aid. He wonders why Lan Xichen hasn’t offered to take over. Surely the older Lan is better at this than the clumsy idiot? Both of the Twin Jades of Lan seem to be the type that are good at everything they do.
He looks up and opens his mouth to suggest this, regardless of what Wei Wuxian will say, but then he sees the knowing smile on Lan Xichen’s face. Jin Zixuan pauses and wonders about that. He automatically looks to Lan Wangji’s face to whom the smile is directed at.
At first there’s nothing that stands out. His expression is as neutral as always. He can’t tell what the other is thinking. Jin Zixuan’s eyes roam, trying to figure it out. Something is different.
He blinks.
The tips of Lan Wangji’s ears are red. Wei Wuxian, who is concentrated on his task, does not see.
Oh. Jin Zixuan thinks and then he understands.
Could it be?
Is Lan Wangji, peerless beauty of Gusulan, the famed second jade of Lan in lo-
“Done!” Wei Wuxian says and he gives Lan Wangji his brightest smile. Lan Wangji’s ears turn redder. He nods his head shyly in thanks. The Jiangs' disciple laughs and teases him for his poker face.
It looks like they are flirting with each other! Jin Zixuan gives Lan Xichen a scandalized look, but the older Lan merely sighs in fond exasperation. He feels the Jin heir’s gaze and gives him a commiserating look in return.
Oh. Jin Zixuan thinks again. He pinches the bridge of his nose at the horrifying realization. That look from Lan Xichen means he is right.
The second young master Lan is in- in like (love?) with the Jiang’s senior disciple. Wei Wuxian of all people! Jin Zixuan has the very strong urge to slap his face and check if this is a dream. He wishes he can erase this realization from his mind.
He sighs heavily and excuses himself from the group. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wnagji barely notices his excuses, too wrapped up in each other. As he leaves, he somehow feels like he has just gotten involved in something troublesome.
End