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Chapter Text

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!” The gentle, rhythmic thud of someone running through the jingshi softly echoed through the room where Lan Wangji sat, ink brush in hand, with piles of paper lay next to him. He lifted his head, watching as Wei Wuxian tumbled into view, a slight look of guilt plastered onto his face, accompanied by a grin that promised the arrival of utter chaos. “Lan Zhan, people are coming!”

With a slow yet steady sigh, Lan Wangji rest his brush on the table, raising an eyebrow in mild bewilderment. Only once the obvious gesture of shock appeared on Lan Wangji’s jade face, did Wei Wuxian slow down his thoughts, and hurry to speak once more.

”They’re good people- great people actually, and they aren’t here for anything bad, just to visit” with a nervous chuckle he added,”Umm.. you see, there is a bit of a problem…”

“Wei Ying, who is coming?” Lan Wangji asked his husband, doubting the other man would remember to actually say who these newcomers were.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, that’s the problem! One of the visitors is Xie Lian, crown prince of Xianle, an ancient city, and also a martial god, and the other is the Crimson Rain Sought Flower, Hua Cheng, one of the only devastation ranked ghosts!”

“…” if Lan Wangji were from any sect but the Lan sect, his mouth would have been agape, with sounds of shock, terror, and interest all flowing off of his tongue. Luckily, that man kept his pride, as he simply furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Wei Wuxian. Again, if were anyone else, he would have thought Wei Wuxian had gone mad, although he knew the man well enough to know better than that.

“Wei Ying, how do you know these people? Why are they coming?” Lan Wangji slowly spoke, choosing his inquiries carefully.

“Well, it’s a long story.. simply, the reason no one could summon my soul after death was because I had gone to a place called ghost city. As the name implies, it’s a city of ghosts! That’s where I met Hua Cheng, and Xie Lian, who had both heard about my demonic cultivation and were interested about how it worked.”

“They let me stay with them, and eventually, Xie Lian said I was nice and fun to have around, so Hua Cheng let me stay longer. Honestly, that man would do anything for him… that’s beside the point though! Basically, we became closer, so when I was summoned to Mo Xuyanu’s body, they were… a bit concerned. They found me eventually, though it was only recently.”

“They sent a message, and they want to visit the cloud recess to see me, and I’m certain old-man Qiren would have a fatal qi deviation the minute Hua-ge enters the sect- due to his energy alone!”

Lan Wangji briefly paused, but nodded in understanding.

“I will inform brother and uncle of this. They’ll see to the juniors.”

Wei Wuxian sighed, sitting next to his husband and laying his head down on the older man’s shoulder, “thank you, Baobei” he sighed, humming contently.

“No thank you or sorry between us, Wei Ying” Lan Wangji commented, trying to ignore the blush on his ears from the sudden nickname, which he knew Wei Wuxian could see. Wei Wuxian adjusted his position; now laying his head on his partners lap, he continued to ramble. “I think they want to see A-Yuan, so we should inform him of this first, hm?”

“Mn.” Was Lan Wangji’s prompt reply.

It was by midday that the news had spread all throughout the cloud recess, only causing two Lans to faint, and three to turn an alarming shade of blue, which was better than Wei Wuxian had originally anticipated!

Lan Wangji had left Wei Wuxian alone to meet with Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen to talk further about the guests, so Wei Wuxian sprawled himself out over his soft bed, bored out of his mind.

An incense time later, a memory resurfaced ; he still had to tell Lan Sizhui about Hua Cheng and Xie Lian! When staying in ghost city, the man had talked for hours on end about his little A-Yuan, so Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were bound to ask about him when they came! Wei Wuxian shot up, and ran to one of the many fields in Gusu that now housed hundreds, if not thousands of rabbits.

It was around the time now that Lan Sizhui would be feeding the ever-growing mass of white fluff, so as Wei Wuxian approached and caught sight of a Lan disciple sitting straight with rabbits fighting for a place in his arms, all while the said Lan was laughing quietly at the adorable sight, Wei Wuxian knew it was Lan Sizhui.

“A-Yuan!”

He called out, approaching Sizhui with a warm smile on his face. Even seeing his little A-Yuan in the pile of rabbits was enough to make him die early! It was truly such an adorable sight! “Xian-Gege!” Sizhui called out in response, although not loud enough to be considered a shout to most.

“Xian-Gege, I’ve heard about the visitors, and that you know them. Is it true?” He said again once Wei Wuxian was close enough to hear.

“Mhm! That’s actually the reason I came to find you! Hua Cheng and Xie Lian knew me when I was dead, and I talked a lot about you! I think they’ll ask about you, so I was wondering if you’d be ok with meeting them!”

Lan Sizhui just blinked for a moment, in shock. He stayed like this, seemingly frozen until a light grey rabbit he was previously petting shoved its fluffy head against his palm, annoyed he stopped petting it, and snapped Sizhui out of his daze.

“I-.. sure, if you say they’re nice, then I have no choice but to believe you” his voice wavered at first, steadying swiftly after its initial waver despite his utter confusion and shock. Hearing this, Wei Wuxian nodded in thanks, and sat next to the boy in the field of rabbits. The rabbits preferred Lan Sizhui, as he usually was the one to feed them, but those who could not get attention from the boy ran over to Wei Wuxian, squeaking as he scooped them into his arms and hugging them tightly to him. However, after one or two kicks from the furious balls of fluff, he laid them back into the grass, multiple stomping angrily before demanding attention once more.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Sizhui had sat there, playing with the rabbits for who knows how long, with Wei Wuxian enjoying Lan Sizhui’s company. The disciple was free from lessons that day, as were others, due to the suspected guest’s arrival.

A comfortable silence hung over the two, only to be broken as another disciple ran (the Lan equivalent of a run anyway) up to the duo, catching his breath slightly before speaking to the very bemused Wei Wuxian,

“Wei-qianbei, your-your… visitors arrived outside of the ancestral hall..” The disciple said, although it was clear he was nervous.

Wei Wuxian let his mouth fall to an ‘o’ shape, and he stood up, wincing a bit when he did after such a long period of sitting. He turned to Lan Sizhui, and gestured for him to follow, which he turned back to see was promptly being done.

Halfway to the ancestral hall, Wei Wuxian stopped dead in his tracks, Lan Sizhui coming to a prompt halt after noticing this. Wei Wuxian was looking at the roof of the closest building, where a beautiful, intricate silver butterfly lay, wings gently flapping, as if it were a normal butterfly. Lan Sizhui knew better than that. What kind of butterfly looked like that? Still, the boy wondered why Wei Wuxian had stopped, yet before he could ask, Wei Wuxian called out, seemingly to the butterfly!

“Hey, little one! Go to your master and tell him to wait one moment, and to not give any Lans a qi deviation!”. To Lan Sizhui’s astonishment, the butterfly actually flew off after this, and with no explanation more than a small comment about it being a ghost butterfly, Wei Wuxian set off once more, leaving a bewildered Lan Sizhui in his wake, although he scurried after the elder swiftly.

The two finally reached the ancestral hall, and there stood Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji, standing across from two other people.

It was Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, the former donning his actual form, with long, dramatic red robes and intricate silver jewellery, paired with a handsome face that was partially covered by a black eyepatch, yet a painfully bored expression on his face, brightening only when he stole a glance at Xie Lian, who wore his usual white robes which were simple and elegant, yet without his usual woven hat. His face was handsome, yet soft and seemed ever so slightly delicate.

Unlike Hua Cheng, Xie Lian was smiling pleasantly at Lan Xichen, as they politely made conversation. This peace, however, was quickly stifled as Wei Wuxian ran over to Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, almost throwing himself onto the red-clad, ever familiar ghost king.

“Hua-Ge, Xie-Ge!”

He called, a massive, giddy grin over his face as he clung to Hua Cheng like a koala. Xie Lian’s could not help but brighten drastically, and he gave a brief apology to Lan Xichen, who only smiled in response, an invitation for Xie Lian to go greet Wei Wuxian.

Xie Lian rushed over to Hua Cheng, who was trying to pry a particularly clingy Wei Wuxian off of him, although Xie Lian noted that Hua Cheng was practically beaming despite himself.

“A-Ying-“ Hua Cheng started with a groan, catching all of the Lans’ attention. A-Ying? Who knew Wei Wuxian was so close with the Crimson Rain Sought Flower! “-get off of me, A-Ying..”

“Is that how you treat me after all of this time!?” Wei Wuxian gasped dramatically, practically throwing himself off of Hua Cheng and over to Xie Lian. “Xie-Ge, you’re married to such a cruel man!”

Xie Lian chuckled “Wei-Di, you know how San Lang is..” he slightly teased the ghost, joining in with Wei Wuxian.

“Gege… look at what you’ve done to Gege, A-Ying! You’re rubbing off on him!” Hua Cheng promptly stated, hands on hips as he turned to Wei Wuxian once more. He paused briefly, looking the demonic cultivator up and down, rasing en eyebrow in confusion.

“You look so different. And much shorter then before-“

Wei Wuxian swiftly interrupted the man, “Don’t even start… it’s because of Mo Xuanyu. He’s the guy that summoned me, and he made me inhabit his body. It’s not my fault he’s short!”

The three continued to talk, although it was mainly Wei Wuxian blabbering on and on, until Lan Xichen politely cleared his throat as a blatant attempt to gain their attention, which clearly worked, as Wei Wuxian turned to face the sect leader, immediately recognising the look on his face, which was the Lan face of ‘will you introduce us at all?’. Wei Wuxian was swift to change the topic after that.

“This is Zewu-Jun, courtesy name Lan Xichen, current leader of the Lan sect, Hanguang-Jun, courtesy name Lan Wangji, Zewu-Jun’s brother and finally, Lan Qiren, elder of the Lan Sect and uncle to Zewu-Jun and Hanguang-Jun.” He said, facing Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, then facing the Lan’s as he continued, “This is Crimson Rain Sought Flower, Hua Chengzhu, a devastation-rank ghost, also known as Hua Cheng-“

Wei Wuxian started, watching as Lan Qiren’s face grew paler, until it was soothed back into a usual shade, and Wei Wuxian continued “And this is the martial god Xie Lian, crown prince of Xianle. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have been married for centuries”.

Both parties bowed in recognition to one another, before Wei Wuxian moved over to Lan Wangji, and spoke one more.

“Hua-Ge, Xie-Ge, Huanguang-Jun is my cultivation partner and husband!” Xie Lian congratulated them, whilst Hua Cheng sent Lan Wangji a killer glare, which conveyed the same meaning as a usual shovel talk; if you ever hurt Wei Wuxian in any way, consider yourself worse than dead. Lan Wangji gave a brief nod in response.

Just as Wei Wuxian was going to usher them into a meeting room, Xie Lian spoke. “Do you know what happened to the child you were raising in the burial mounds? A-Yuan?” This caught not only Wei Wuxians attention, but the Lan’s as well.

At that, Lan Sizhui moved into view, and then walked over to Wei Wuxian, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. As Wei Wuxian saw that, he smiled, and replied.

“Yes, Hanguang-jun found him, and looked after him in my death. This is Lan Sizhui, given name Lan Yuan.” After hearing this, Xie Lians face brightened.

“It is nice to meet you, Lan Sizhui! Wei-Di has told me many stories from your childhood, and I would love to hear some of your newer experiences! Of course, that is if you are comfortable with it!”

“I would be happy to do so, Xie Lian!” Lan Sizhui replied with a nod.

It felt like no time had passed as Wei Wuxian, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng all traded stories from the last years, although, as Xie Lian commented, it seemed Wei Wuxian had a much more.. busy time full of: investigating murders, political affairs, fighting people and ghosts alike, and of course, clearing his name.

As it was drawing hai time, they were interrupted by Lan Wangji who stood up, glancing at Lan Sizhui, who stood up as well. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian both looked slightly confused by that, but Wei Wuxian just sighed.

“The Lan’s have a curfew at hai time.. it’s followed.. very strictly, so to say. I’ll show you to your quarters, and we can resume our conversation tomorrow?” Wei Wuxian offered, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he was to stay with the two, but he stood as well, knowing Lan Wangji would be annoyed in his usual (hot) way.

Xie Lian, knowing the look on Wei Wuxian’s face, could only nod, as did Hua Cheng. Xie Lian knew Hua Cheng cared deeply for the demonic cultivator, no matter how much he denied it. As Wei Wuxian brought them to a guest room, and Hua Cheng laid down once Wei Wuxian left, letting Xie Lian lay with him, he couldn’t help but thinking about how they had first met the man.

“Why is it so loud in ghost city today? It’s usually loud, but this? I can’t even think..” Hua Cheng sighed as he roamed the streets with Xie Lian. They continued through the streets, hearing a few ghosts murmur about a new arrival.

New arrivals were by no means rare, so why was this one being talked about? The couple turned a corner, and immediately all they could see was a hoard of the dead, some shouting angrily, others confused, and some trying to see what was even happening.

“Move.” Hua Cheng suddenly said, causing the ghosts of to part immediately. What they saw was a ghosts, or what should have been a ghost, but was so mangled and twisted it was hard to recognise it was once a human.

Pieces of it were missing, from head to toe, as if the skin and muscle was torn off, or bitten. The clothes were in a better condition, although not by much, first and blood staining it so deeply you couldn’t make out the original pattern. The fabric was torn, fraying and clearly well-worn.

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian both approached the body, the god crouching in front of it as he inspected it. The face was definitely on of a man, certainly a handsome one, if not for the mangled skin and the thin face, a clear sign of malnutrition and starvation.

To Xie Lian’s shock, the ghost suddenly awoke, eyes opening wide, pupils small and searching frantically for.. something? As other ghosts realised he awoke, they spoke up once more, seemingly not caring about Hua Cheng or Xie Lian.

“The scum is alive!”

“That damn monster used my body!”

“I’ll hurt you so much, Yilling Patriarch! Just as you killed me, bastard!”

“Kill the fucker!”

“Don’t just kill him, finish off the job and rip off those hands and arms- make him worse than a human stick!”

“Sew that fuckin’ mouth shut! See how he likes Chenqing then!”

More and more insults flooded in, becoming more and more volatile by the second. The croud was once more silenced when Hua Cheng commanded them to ‘shut the hell up’.

Xie Lian was silent as well. Someone had said this was the Yilling Patriarch. The Yilling patriarch.. that was someone the heavens was keeping an eye on.

A demonic cultivator, immensely strong; killed hundred, if not thousands of Wen’s. Who knew he arrived at ghost city… Hua Cheng, despite being well informed, was probably not informed of this man. How could a ghost spy get near to him whilst he was doing anything… out of the ordinary, without being controlled?

Apart from the increase of the dead coming to ghost city, he had caused no obvious problems for the ghost king, so what was the use of finding out about him?

Xie Lian quickly moved over to his husband to explain the situation. As he heard more, Hua Cheng’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. He wanted to learn more about this boy. Why did he need to use demonic cultivation?

“San Lang, should we take him back to paradise manor?” Xie Lian suggested, not just because of his curiosity, but also because he knew Hua Cheng wanted to bring him, yet the ghost would never admit it himself.

“If that is what Gege wants, I will ask Yin Yu to help him.”

Xie Lian nodded with a smile. “Thank you, San Lang”

“It is no trouble, Gege” Hua Cheng said, before using his communication array to talk to Yin Yu, who came no more than a minuet later, swiftly taking the body away.

“San Lang,I think we should also return to paradise manor.”

Hua Cheng nodded, threw a pair of dice and opened the door that appeared in front of him, stepping through into paradise manor. Xie Lian followed close behind, watching the door vanish behind him.

The couple sat together on the closest seat, just enjoying each others company after the eventful day, yet it was clear that both of them felt the same; ‘this will be an interesting experience, having the infamous Yilling Patriarch in our home..’

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian could no longer scream, could no longer breathe, could no longer think. If he was able to scream, the sound would reach and the heavens. If he was able to breathe, the breaths would be shallow, sharp, without the skill to collect enough air to fill his lungs fully, or to circulate properly before being rushed back out from a sharp exhale. If he were able to think, it would be filled with two words. Those two words would linger in every section of his mind, repeating over and over. Those words would simply be: 

Stop it.

He could no longer bare it; the pain destroying him, his arms loosing mass as his muscles, skin, tendons - all were ripped off the bone and devoured by the frenzied undead. 

Every muscle torn made another part of his body feel like a boulder. Every tendon snapped made him loose control of another part of himself. Every time his bone was revealed to the dank world outside his torn skin, it felt as if the air surrounding him was a corrosive substance, burning and ravaging body and mind alike. 

He could hear the grotesque symphony of flesh tearing, followed soon after with a sickening encore of the clacking of the undead’s teeth.

Through hazy, blood stained eyes, Wei Wuxian could see the puppets he once tugged strings on, now tearing apart their puppeteer. 

All of his senses were overwhelmed, flooded by the stinging sent and stomach churning taste of iron, the sight, sound and sensation of corpses indulging theirselves in Wei Wuxian’s tender, yet slightly stringy meat. He knew this fact well enough as the tendons and muscles that were easily ripped from his beaten body often sprung back, slapping back against his bloody body. 

Wei Wuxian knew he could not survive this time, that he had weaselled his way out of death too many times, yet he fought so desperately to free himself from the masses that piled on top of him. 

Sometimes, his mind flashed back to harsh cliffs, bodies littered on the ground, resentment heavy in the air, and the ever familiar moans, cries and screeches of the dead. Despite this, he knew that his survival in the burial mounds was formed with sheer luck. 

Said luck would not return this time. 

He had lost too much blood, he knew that for certain as he quickly felt colder and colder, as the world was also getting darker and darker. It was over. It was all over. Shijie was dead, Jiang Cheng despised him, Lan Wangji despised him, both Wen Ning and Wen Qing were dead, and A-Yuan… everyone he knew had to be dead. And Wei Wuxian could blame no one but himself. 

The man lay pitifully where he was, knowing he could resist the cold, sickening touch of death no longer. He felt more and more bodies pile onto him, more teeth in him, less of his flesh on his bones, and he finally had a clear thought, 

‘It's  over.. Im sorry.. goodbye-‘ 

And finally, after all of his suffering, everything he ever knew vanished.

He was awake. He had no idea how, but he was awake. There was no pain though? He wasn’t losing blood either, now covered in dry, flaking blood.

He heard voices surrounding him, filled with pure, unmasked hatred, which was a tone he had heard too much of for one lifetime. 

He lifted his eyelids, expecting to see cultivators from hundreds of sects and clans, all looking down at him with their disgust-filled eyes, swords in hand, yet what he saw was different. It was so much worse. Ghosts. There were so many ghosts, all of which were shouting obscenities, chastising him, and screeching vile curses. 

All of which were aimed at him. 

He needed to get away, and he subconsciously scanned the crowd for a way out. Yet he knew there was none. He was backed against a wall with enraged ghosts on all sides. 

As he tried to move, he noticed he could barely lift his arm, and he looked down, wincing as he saw the damage from the corpses that caused his violent end.

In the distance he could see what appeared to be a lively city of.. more ghosts. He didn’t focus on that for long, instead turning to face straight ahead. 

There were two men. 

One of them was crouched down in front of him, which the kindest expression in the crowd. He was beautiful, donned in white robes that reminded him all too well of a certain Lan cultivator- but he decided not to follow that train of thought any further, and shifted his gaze to the taller person standing next to the squatting man. 

Just like the previous man, he was strikingly good looking, although he was more handsome than beautiful. 

He had deep red robes, which looked undeniably expensive, but the thing that caught his attention most about the man was his suppressed resentful energy, so faint anyone who wasn’t a master in controlling it wouldn’t see it. He was a ghost able to suppress his aura of resentful energy. 

That alone told Wei Wuxian the red man was important in this city. Well, that and the sudden, jarring silence that followed after he shouted for the ghosts to be quiet. 

The silence was filled with the white robed man whispering to the ghost, who was clearly pleased with the attention given to him, yet he seemed curious as to what the man was explaining. 

When he finished talking, the ghost replied, saying things Wei Wuxian couldn’t quite catch. 

The duo passed a few more comments before they turned to leave, smiling at each other, leaving a confused and heavily endangered Wei Wuxian to most likely be killed again.

Once the duo, who Wei Wuxian could safely assume were lovers, had left the gathering and were out of both sight and earshot, all eyes simultaneously fell onto Wei Wuxian. 

He kept his head firmly upright, facing the crowd and masterfully hiding his trembling hands. There were two main factors to why he was both terrified and dead calm at that moment:

One, he had accepted the fact that he was dead, although he would need to let it fully settle down if he had a chance to relax. At least it let him understand what was going on, and it gave him a vague idea of where he was.

He had died, the evidence being the lack of blood or pain from his clearly open, dirty wounds, and now he had been sent to a ghost realm, somehow or another. He knew of one ghost realm (no one was sure of others existing, so Wei Wuxian didn’t find it necessary to listen to lectures about them) and that was quite simply called ‘Ghost City’. As the name suggests, it is a city of ghosts, ruled by one of the four calamities, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, who was less commonly known as ‘Hua Cheng’ . 

Wei Wuxian thought it a fitting name, although quite pretty for such a strong ghost.. regardless, if Wei Wuxian was in Ghost City, he was quite certain he had just encountered quite the influential figure.. Hua Cheng. 

It made sense, given what was known about him! There were three key things Wei Wuxian knew about Hua Cheng;

1.Hua Cheng had an eyepatch covering one eye, and the other eye was black

2.Hua Cheng wore all red

3.Hua Cheng was Married to the God, Xie Lian, who ascended three times. Supposedly Hua Cheng was extremely devoted to Xie Lian.

All of those things corresponded with what Wei Wuxian saw just moments ago, displayed by the man who crouched next to the kind looking man. 

He was certain that the man was Hua Cheng, and the kind looking man was the famed Xie Lian! 

He wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good or a bad thing though…

He quickly snapped out of his trance when the angry mob surrounding him collectively swarmed forwards, reminding Wei Wuxian of the stray hounds that littered alleyways and abandoned streets he used to roam. 

The jeers grew louder and louder, until his head felt as if it would explode. 

Wei Wuxian found himself seeing the ghosts that surrounded him as dogs, his mind morphing their bodies into the violent things that chewed his toddler body.

If he was breathing at that moment, it would be rapid and unstable.

He saw the sharp fangs from starved dogs-

He saw the mass of corpses that pilled on him during his final moments -

He saw the restless spirits of the burial mounds-

He saw cultivators sneering-

He saw the swarm of ghosts descending onto him-

He tried to see the resentful energy, but it was like a tsunami crashing onto him- a sudden, violent onslaught of energy completely flooding him and his senses. He had to be careful as he drew the energy, but in his state of raw panic, he found he could not do so.

Then, he saw someone’s back, seemingly protecting him from the riot.. then they turned to face him. 

His benefactor's face was obscured by a mask- one that depicted a simple smiling face. This man seemed to silence the crowd, apart from a lone voice muttering what Wei Wuxian assumed was his name: Yin Yu. 

It was a name that felt familiar to Wei Wuxian- familiar in a ‘I-know-I-should-know-his-name-from-somewhere-but-I’ve-forgotten’ way. Then, he heard another name- rather, a title. 

‘Waning moon officer’.

‘I know that name.. that’s Hua Cheng's assistant. I did really just meet Hua Cheng then. And he sent someone to me. Huh..’

‘…’

‘Im fucked-‘

Reaching his mental breaking point, Wei Wuxian promptly fainted.

Wei Wuxian fought against the searing pain brought by his torn muscles as he slowly rose from a soft bed… somewhere. 

To put it frankly, he found himself in an absurdly fancy room, with delicate red and gold ornaments hanging from each wall. 

Wei Wuxian almost jumped as he spotted a man that he assumed was Yin Yu standing over his bed, watching him. He was facing Wei Wuxian, and gave a small bow to him, before speaking in a quiet voice. 

“I greet the Yilling Laozu.” 

Wei Wuxian gave a respectful bow in response. “Thank you. Could you tell me your name?”

“I am the Waning moon officer, Yin Yu, subordinate to Hua Chengzhu.”

‘Ah, I was right…’ Wei Wuxian thought briefly, but swiftly spoke once again. “Thank you, Waning moon officer. May I ask where I am?”

“You are in ghost city. More specifically, you are in paradise manor, the residence of Hua Chengzhu and Taizi Dianxia of Xianle.”

Wei Wuxian sat for a moment, stunned, before regaining his composure with an undignified ‘ahem..’ 

“May I ask why I am… here?”

“Taizi Dianxia requested for you to be brought here after he and Hua Chengzhu found you on the streets of ghost city.” 

Yin Yu answered as if it were not such a grand matter, but rather the opposite, like it was so insignificant it could hardly be worth mentioning. Just as Wei Wuxian was about to ask why Xie Lian had asked for him to be brought to his residence, Yin Yu moved towards the door, bowing again to Wei Wuxian as he left 

“I apologise, but I must inform Taizi Dianxia and Hua Chengzhu that you have awoken. Goodbye, Yilling Laozu.”

He turned and left, leaving an utterly confused and equally stunned Wei Wuxian to sit dumbfounded on a bed that belonged in golden carp tower, in a room of equal extravagance.

“… what the fuck..” 

Wei Wuxian found himself muttering this before laying down on the bed, broken muscles sighing as the stress put on them eased, hands over his eyes and attempting to comprehend all of the information that was thrown at him. 

He was actually in Ghost City, meaning he had actually died. He had actually met Hua Cheng, and most likely Xie Lian, from the information Yin Yu had given him.

He knew this all, and most of it had sunk in, even if it probably meant bad things for him (name: gaining Hua Cheng’s attention) yet one thing plagued his mind. He was painfully aware of this thing, yet he could not find an outlet for his emotions caused by the world shattering event. He had died. Actually died. He was so confused with the emotions that swarmed him, but he could put a name and reason to some.

Sad that he had died, wanting to find more in his life.

Angry he had died in such a place, in such a shameful way as ‘demonic cultivation backlash’.

Angry that he proved the people who said he would pay for practicing demonic cultivation right.

Disgusted in his weakness and inability to do anything.

Disappointed in himself.

Scared for everything that would happen.

Yet also relieved. Relieved he had paid for his sins. Relieved he had at least destroyed the Yin Tiger Tally. Relieved he did one thing right; die. Just like everyone wanted. 

He knew the way he went out was fitting for someone like him. He couldn’t help but be happy he had atoned, even slightly, for his actions. Especially against his poor Shijie-

There was a gentle knock on the door, followed by a call from outside the room that Wei Wuxian didn’t quite catch as he was snapped out of his trance. He flung himself off of the bed as fast as someone with semi-complete muscles could, standing awkwardly next to it before calling out, “come in!”, in the least surprised voice he could manage.

Quickly after he called out, the door opened to reveal two figures. One was the kind man, who he figured was Xie Lian, and the red ghost, who he also was pretty sure was Hua Cheng. 

“..I..” 

Wei Wuxian started hesitantly, then continued after regaining a sliver of confidence. 

“..the Yilling Laozu Wei Wuxian greets Taizi Dianxia Xie Lian, and Crimson Rain Sought Flower.” He bowed, clasping his hands in front of himself .

“Ah, no need for you to do that! And this one is no longer a prince, so there is no need to be so formal!”

Xie Lian approached Wei Wuxian, causing him to rise and see a kind smile on his face, and warm, friendly eyes, while Hua Cheng, who was still by the door, only hummed in approval of Wei Wuxian’s courtesy, before turning back to look at Xie Lian with a look of pure devotion.

”If it is fine with you, could you tell me why you have brought me here, Crimson rain sought flo-“

Wei Wuxian started, wanting to get his question out of the way as soon as possible, but Hua Cheng interrupted him as soon as he was mentioned.

“Hua Chengzhu, or Hua Cheng. Crimson Rain Sought Flower is too much every single time, especially since you are now a member of ghost city.” 

His voice was not friendly, yet it held little to no annoyance, which surprised Wei Wuxian as records said Hua Cheng was often not the friendliest to people who weren’t well known to him, like Yin Yu, and that was a neutral relationship, or, as some rumours said, Black water sinking ships, a calamity like Hua Cheng, and even then they had issues. 

The only exception was Xie Lian, who he was married to and adored deeply. 

It was probably because he was a guest of Xie Lian, and the man was in the room with them, that he acted without malice (not much, at least).

“..okay, Hua Chengzhu.” 

Wei Wuxian started again, 

“Hua Chengzhu’s assistant, the waning moon officer Yin told me I was brought by your request Taizi Dianx-.. Xie Lian.” 

Wei Wuxian quickly corrected himself once he remembered that Xie Lian had asked him not to call him Taizi Dianxia.

Xie Lian paused briefly, but spoke hesitantly. 

“You had.. caught the attention of some people from the heavenly realm. I decided, when I figured out who you were, to take you here and… well, it was rather a spontaneous idea, so I'm not sure in my reasoning, but I’d like to think it was out of curiosity and because… well, it wouldn’t have been the best experience to be out with the occupants of ghost city considering your.. connection to some of them.”

Wei Wuxian gave an understanding nod. “I thank you regardless of your intentions, Xie Lian. I wouldn’t be having the best time if I was still out in the streets..” He gave a small sigh, but quickly returned to look at the couple, wondering what else they wanted…

Wei Wuxian still did not fully trust the duo. Yes, he knew one was a god and the other would rather scatter his ashes before he did anything to upset his lover, but after being constantly hunted by the cultivation sects, as a rabbit would be by a hound, he found himself untrusting of the two. 

He knew they were his benefactors, yet who'd blame him after all that had happened in the past few years? 

Despite his best efforts, Wei Wuxian found himself uncomfortable under Hua Cheng's gaze. He knew the ghost king had something to say, but the anticipation was worse than knowing the man wanted something from him.

“Wei Wuxian, while you are residing in ghost city, I expect you to not use demonic cultivation unless it is to protect yourself. If you purposely cause trouble for me or Gege, I suspect that you know that there will be consequences.”

Wei Wuxian felt a shiver go down his spine from the aura radiating off the ghost, but he spoke with a level voice regardless, used to fear after years of causing it himself.

“Of course, Hua Chengzhu.” 

“Good.”

Hua Cheng replied smoothly after, then turning and immediately giving Xie Lian a smile, as if he was afraid of the man being gone at every second.

“Well, me and San Lang will leave you now that we have finally settled this! Please make sure to come eat later. Yin Yu will guide you to the hall where you will eat. In that time though, you are free to roam paradise manor. You will know what places are off limits if you encounter any- there are strong wards that will block you from entering if you try to do so.”

Wei Wuxian nodded

“Thank you, Xie Lian and Hua Chengzhu for your courtesy.”

Xie Lian smiled, and Hua Cheng gave another brief hum of approval, before the duo turned and left the demonic cultivator in his room once more.

He sighed, but this time, he thought that maybe, these people wouldn’t judge him. Wouldn’t hate him. 

But.. he was certain of the fact he shouldn’t entirely trust that feeling that was forming.

So he didn’t.

Not for a while..

Wei Wuxian awoke from the sun shining violently in his eyes, and the usual ache in his back he felt everyday- 

He sat up regardless, stretching with a small hum before swiftly going to change into his usual outfit. 

Usually, he wouldn’t be so eager to get out of the jingshi, but today, he had his Hua-Ge and Xie-Ge to be with! He quickly put on his clothes, fumbling slightly as he tied them, not able to wait much longer to see them. 

Eventually, he flew out of the jingshi, hair tied in the usual, slightly messy, way, robes properly tied, and rushed to the guest rooms, hoping that Xie Lian or Hua Cheng would still be there.

By some freakish luck, they were, in fact, just outside of their room! 

“Xie-Ge, Hua-Ge!” 

Wei Wuxian called, waving as he rushed closer to the duo. 

“You’re here!” 

“Wei-Di!”

Xie Lian turned to face him as he called in response 

“We were just going to find you.”

“Quite frankly, I'm surprised the Lans don’t punish you for getting up so late, A-Ying.” 

Hua Cheng smirked, 

“Gege and I got up quite easily at the right time, yet we came only yesterday.. you live here, and yet you can’t?” 

To anyone else who could’ve heard, it would’ve sounded like the ghost was truly mocking the younger man, but Wei Wuxian knew better than to think that. 

Instead, he rolled his eyes, and shot out a retort immediately

“You two wake early regardless! And besides, I’m married to Lan Zhan, so of course I wouldn’t get punished! I’m an exception!”

“Using your husband as a barrier from punishment? The poor man, to be used by someone like you..” 

Hua Cheng feigned pity as he sighed and shook his head, before Wei Wuxian groaned with fake annoyance.

“Well, I would have taken you and Xie-Ge around the cloud recess, but you’ve spoiled it for yourself and poor Xie-Ge!” 

He turned around to face away from Hua Cheng and Xie Lian with a poor attempt of a pout to hide his smile.

“Ahh.. finally, A-Ying isn’t bothering us Gege!” 

Hua Cheng hummed slyly whilst turning to face Xie Lian, who wore a bemused expression. Wei Wuxian turned to face him with an indignant look.

“Xie-Ge, Xie-Ge! Your husband is evil! Evil I tell you!” Wei Wuxian cried, moving to go cling onto Xie Lian, but Hua Cheng stopped him halfway, tutting.

“Look at you, lying to Gege.. A-Ying is the evil one..”

“San Lang, Wei-Di..” Xie Lian started with a small sigh, a fond, but slightly tired smile on his face, making Wei Wuxian laugh a bit.

“Sorry Xie-Ge!” He said, before turning to face Hua Cheng, “Fine, you and Xie-Ge can have a tour from me, but only because Xie-Ge won’t have any fun without me!”

Wei Wuxian lied, although to anyone close to Wei Wuxian, it was a pathetic attempt at a lie. 

He wanted to be with both his Xie-Ge and his Hua-Ge, and who could blame him! All this time separated from the two men who had been steady presences for the better part of 13 years! Xie Lian chuckled slightly whilst Hua Cheng grinned, both knowing all too well the real reason Wei Wuxian agreed.

“Lead the way to.. wherever you’re taking us” Hua Cheng said as Wei Wuxian started walking somewhere, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian in tow.

“You’ll like it!” Wei Wuxian called back, a mischievous tone in his voice that caused Hua Cheng to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. 

The trio stopped outside of what appeared to be a field. That alone wouldn’t be anything groundbreaking, but the thing that got both Hua Cheng and Xie Lian to stare wide-eyed was the swarm of pure white and cream rabbits. 

They hopped about, spreading as far as you could see. We Wuxian giggled a bit at the two’s expressions, before finally deciding to explain the entire ‘rabbit field’ situation.

“Back when I studied in Gusu, I gave Lan Zhan two rabbits and.. it turns out he is a real sucker for rabbits, so he got two more. Those two new rabbits had babies, and then it kind of.. spun out of control? it kind of got to a point they had to be moved to this field.”

Hua Cheng snorted at that, but Xie Lian seemed captivated by the army of living fluff in front of him, too much so that he couldn’t react to the story. 

His eyes sparkled with what could only be explained as pure, unbridled joy, and a slight cuteness overload. Hua Cheng noticed this, and just smiled at Xie Lian, wanting to etch the image of his happiness forever into his head. 

Maybe he should make another statue of him, with this specific look? 

He decided that he must, but later. 

He paused slightly, before turning to face Wei Wuxian once more

“A-Ying, why did only the third and fourth have children, but not the first and second?”

Wei Wuxian let out a small cackle at that

“Ha-! Well, you see, the rabbits did like each other.. a lot.. but, both were male, so alas, they couldn’t have any children of their own. By some freak stroke of luck though, they’re alive and still kicking, literally. Maybe they’re immortal..”

Xie lian seemed to snap out of his daze at that, turning to speak to Wei Wuxian

“Can we see them?”

“Mhm! I was going to see them yesterday, but you two arrived and.. yeah.”

Wei Wuxian hopped over the fence, into the field, making sure not to crush any of the poor rabbits,with Xie Lian and Hua Cheng close behind, using the gate instead. 

Immediately, they were swarmed by rabbits who jumped at them, trying to get their attention before others could. Wei Wuxian patted some of them, and picked one up at random, hugging it until it decided it had enough, and kicked him. Wei Wuxian huffed, muttering about rabbits being so picky, before continuing to wade through the sea of attention-seeking animals. 

Eventually, he bent down, and seemed to pick up two rabbits, but from where Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were, trapped by other bunnies, they couldn’t see them clearly. 

But that was only until Wei Wuxian came back to them.

Hua Cheng blinked for a moment, but huffed in amusement when he saw the second rabbit. 

“Of course the only rabbit of a different colour is that one. Just like you- a black stain in the sea of pristine Lans.”

Wei Wuxian just rolled his eyes, before placing the black rabbit down, letting him run  in front of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. 

He then proceeded to hold the white rabbit to his face, letting himself be consumed by the fluff until the white rabbit finally kicked. He didn’t let the rabbit go, but only held it to his chest, which the rabbit seemed happy with.

The black rabbit, who was now sitting right by Hua Cheng's foot, kicked Hua Cheng slightly, wanting his attention. 

Hua Cheng only looked down with a conflicted expression. 

He was never one for the appearance of things (the exception being Xie Lian), and especially so for cute things, yet he found himself strangely attached to the black fluff-ball. What was worse, he seemed to want to… crush the rabbit? Was this what they called cuteness aggression? 

Hesitantly, he picked up the rabbit with a strange caution, holding it like one would hold a baby. The rabbit seemed pleased with this, and shifted further into his grasp.

Xie Lian saw this from his peripheral vision and smiled. He was currently sitting on the floor, a rabbit on each arm, one on each shoulder and four on his lap.

The white rabbit in Wei Wuxian’s arms seemed to notice this, and jumped out his arms, legs hitting painfully against his ribs, receiving a small yelp of pain. This help was cut off quickly as Wei Wuxian looked in the direction the white rabbit was heading, and was replaced swiftly by laughter as he saw Xie Lian buried under rabbits. 

The white rabbit was going over to Xie Lian and his army of rabbits. When he was close enough, he head butted Xie Lian's leg in an attempt to gain his affection. Xie Lian slowly moved his arm over to pet the rabbit, trying to make sure the rabbit on that arm didn’t fall, which went well, until the old rabbit got impatient and jumped, pushing his head into Xie Lian’s palm to finally get some attention. 

Sadly, this suddenly jolted Xie Lian's arm, and caused the rabbit on it to fly like an arrow off a limp string: not very far, and quite pathetic to look at, but the action enough to cause a moment of fleeting concern.

The rabbit scrambled to its feet, stomping angrily, and bounding towards the gate with a speed that shouldn’t be acquired by such a small thing. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian had no reason to think anything of this, but Wei Wuxian knew this pattern very well. He turned his gaze from the rabbit, upwards, and found himself staring at Lan Wangji.

As other rabbits took notice of Lan Wangji, someone that fed them and gave them endless attention, they scurried towards the gate, clambering eagerly on top of each other. 

Silently, Lan Wangji opened the gate, and slid into the field, careful not to hurt even a single hair of the rabbits that swarmed him. He moved swiftly, despite the hoard of rabbits, over to where Wei Wuxian stood, a small smile tugging at his lips seeing his husband so happy.

“Lan Zhan, why are you here? Did you come to feed the rabbits?” 

Wei Wuxian said, but practically interrupted himself as he shook his head and continued on,

”No, you usually would’ve brought A-Yuan with you at this time, since he isn’t in lessons at this hour- so..” He paused with a mischievous smile, “You came here to find me, Lan Zhan?”

Lan Wangji let the smile grow slightly. “Mn. Wei Ying is never out of the jingshi at this time.” 

To someone who had not been with the man for such a long time, that would seem like a calm remark, but Wei Wuxian could now hear the teasing tone that statement held. 

In front of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian as well!

“Lan Zhan! I really have imprinted on you! You shame me in front of Hua-ge and Xie-Ge? Aiyah, what has happened to you!” 

Wei Wuxian pretended to wipe a tear and dramatically fell into Lan Wangji’s arms, getting a snort from Hua Cheng.

“You aren’t even out of the jingshi by this time? A-Ying, you’re even worse at getting up than when we looked after you!”

Hua Cheng remarked, causing Wei Wuxian to stick his tongue out in a childish manner, and poor Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at their antics..

Happily, Wei Wuxian could jump from one topic to another faster than what should be socially acceptable; one moment talking about A-Yuan, the next sect gossip, then a new tavern in Yanling that had gotten caught in a scandal. 

The list could only go on and on. 

This time, he decided that he wanted to do something.

“Hua-Ge, Xie-Ge, Lan Zhan, should we go to Caiyi town today? It’ll be nice to show them around, right, Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan paused, but shook his head eventually.

“Tomorrow. The market stalls go up on Sunday.”

“Ah! You’re right, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian started before swivelling around to face Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.

“Do you want to go to Caiyi town?”

“Sure! San Lang teleported us directly into the cloud recess with his transportation array, so we didn’t get to visit Caiyi town. I’ve heard of it, though!” 

Xie Lian said happily.

“Hmm.. if Gege is going, I’ll go” Hua Cheng agreed swiftly after Xie Lian finished, causing Wei Wuxian to grin.

“Perfect! Well, that’s for tomorro- ow!” 

Wei Wuxian said kneeling to pick up a rabbit and hold it to eye level. 

“Don’t bite me! I’ll chase you with fierce corpses- no, I’ll find fierce rabbits-“ 

(he ignored the fact that 1. The rabbit could not understand, and 2. Fierce rabbits did not exist in the same way that fierce corpses did) 

“- to chase you all the way to Yilling!”

The rabbit just flailed like a fish in his grasp until Lan Wangji lay his arm under its feet to stabilise the poor thing. 

Wei Wuxian gave an evil laugh before placing the rabbit back on the floor with its friends that all huddled around it like a protection bubble, only heightening Wei Wuxian’s amusement.

‘Sometimes I forget Wei-di is like this…’ 

Xie Lian said to Hua Cheng via his communication array, to which Hua Cheng chuckled slightly before facing Wei Wuxian and replying. 

‘He is truly strange’

Wei Wuxian seemed to be digging like a mole through the pile of protective rabbits, trying to snatch the rabbit back into his grasp, but before any proper progress could be made, someone spoke. 

Wei Wuxian’s head snapped up, his neck cracking loud enough to startle multiple of the rabbits, and to make lan Wangji give his equivalent of a bemused face, which Wei 

Wuxian waved off once he saw who was standing by the gate of the field. 

It was Lan Jingyi, who was greeting Hua Cheng and Xie Lian with more courtesy than he had ever given Wei Wuxian. He turned swiftly to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji after that. 

“Hanguang-Jun, Wei-Xianbei.” 

He greeted, smiling when Wei Wuxian replied and Lan Wangji gave a hum of greeting, he paused slightly, seemingly remembering something, before he sighed- 

“Wei-Xianbei, I know you are with your guests, but.. elder Lan Qiren requires your presence-“

Lan Wangji shot Wei Wuxian a look that said 

‘Wei Ying, what have you done to my uncle this time..?’

“-And sect leader Lan has asked for the guests to be brought to him..”

Wei Wuxian gave a look of pure misery.

“Not only will I be separated from Lan Zhan, Hua-Ge and Xie-Ge, but I’ll be punished by old-man Lan! It’s truly the end for me now!”

He said, standing up and effectively removing the dirt from his robes with a few angry thwacks to its direction. 

“What did you do this time A-Ying” Hua Cheng mused with a evil smirk

“I dyed Lan Qiren's beard red.. amazingly red..” Wei Wuxian sighed, now with a proud grin covering his face

“Wei Ying..” Lan Wangji mumbled, but stood up and followed Hua Cheng, Xie Lian, and Wei Wuxian who had already gone to follow Jingyi. 

He knew all too well that he could never make Wei Wuxian stop going after his uncle, no matter what he said (or did) to tempt him. He knew bribery was against the rules, but he had broken rules for Wei a Wuxian before, and he would do it again. From bribery to going against elders, he would do it all for his husband and son.

Sadly for Wei Wuxian, his punishment was copying the lan rules. And he had to do so immediately. So, poor Wei Wuxian was stuck, cooped up in the library copying the lan rules, whilst Hua Cheng and Xie Lian talked with Lan Xichen, arranging a proper place for them to stay, and the duration of their visit. 

And Lan Wangji? Well.. Lan Wangji was playing his guqin in hopes to prevent Lan Qiren from actually dying from a qi deviation. 

The day passed quickly after that- Wei Wuxian still copying rules, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng roaming the could recess, toured by a nervous -but excited- Lan Sizhui, and Lan Wangji training some lan disciples in musical cultivation and mediation up until a sichen to hai time, where the class ended and Lan Wangji moved to collect Wei Wuxian.

As Wei Wuxian lay flush to Lan Wangji, breaths quick and heart pounding from the night’s… activities, he let himself relax, becoming the essence of joy. How lucky he way- to not only have his beautiful, kind, prefect Lan Zhan, but to also have his gentle Xie-Ge and sly -but caring- Hua-ge.

He wouldn’t trade it for anything.