Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A magical fox from the heavens was residing in the forests of Cloud Recesses.

Lan Zhan knew this to be true because Uncle Qiren and Da-ge said so. And Uncle Qiren was nice, nicer than those pinch-faced elders who looked like they had decided to eat an unripe loquat when they looked at Lan Zhan. And unripe loquats made Lan Zhan’s stomach hurt, and that was just mean for them to look at him like that.

He was nothing like an unripe loquat– Da-ge told him he wasn’t and Da-ge never lied to him. Da-ge was the nicest of all besides their Mama. They had the same smile and A-Zhan loved it when they smiled at him. It made him feel all silly and giggly, he couldn’t help but dance and jump around.

And when he danced and jumped, his Mama would let out a laugh that sounded like the twinkling bells atop the Jing–

His little feet stumbled on one of the stones leading to his secret place. His eyes widened and he wobbled, his basket of tofu, fruit, and his best calligraphy pieces swinging in his arms.

A small whine left his lips as he balanced himself, his small heart fluttering as he attempted to keep everything from falling out. His gold eyes darted to his basket and the ground, taking stock of his goods. “ One, two, three,” he counted each of the pieces of fruit, nodding his head when everything was all there.

Satisfied, a four-year-old Lan Zhan then turned his gaze to look around the peaceful forest. “ Follow the path with white stones,” he whispered to himself, a small skip in his step as he continued walking along the path.

” Master Fox, Master Fox~” he absently sang, his pointer finger coming up to his lips before he stopped it. He gave it a cold frown, “ No. No sucking on fingers,” he scolded himself, a low whine building in his throat as he remembered and channeled the stern way his father spoke to him.

He had been sucking on his fingers at dinner as he leaned against Da-ge, the news somehow getting back to his Fuqin. Fuqin said he was too old to be doing that, “ Lan Zhan is to uphold the family values, bring awe and respect– not act in such an uncouth, childish manner,” his cold, nasty words pinged through the young boy.

His head jolted around to look at the forest as he whipped his hand away from his face. If he was visiting the Master Fox and making a prayer to them, Lan Zhan could not misbehave– not one single misstep or unnecessary, 'undignified' sound that always upset his Fuqin or the Lan Elders.

Anxiety raced through him as he stiffened his wobbling lip, his back straightening as he made his way up the steadily inclining stones. “ Breathe, A-Zhan,” he softly reminded himself, forcing himself to think of his Da-ge’s soft, guiding voice and gentle hands.

He couldn’t help but mumble and chatter to himself as he approached the lone shrine he and Da-ge tended to for Master Fox. Uncle Qiren had helped when he could, giving Lan Zhan little trinkets and treats to offer to the Master.

Not everyone revered Master Fox; Lan Zhan knew that. They didn’t speak badly about them, but those against their presence often got that unripe-loquat-Lan-Zhan face when the young boy heard them debating worshipping the fox over their ancestors.

Lan Zhan liked the Master Fox a lot, though. Lots and lots, especially since his Mama always read him stories about celestial foxes when Uncle was talking to Da-ge outside her room. And that happened a lot recently, with Mama coughing more and more.

She always made a pretend fox with her hand and tickled and bit Lan Zhan’s tummy and face. If Master Fox was soft and as warm as his Mama’s bed-furs, he hoped the Master wouldn’t hate him for asking to pet their soft fur.

Lan Zhan nearly toppled and fell down the small hill as he came to the jade offering bowl of their private, hidden shrine for the Master Fox. He let out a soft gasp and bit his lip to muffle the loud "Ow!" as his toes hit the stone of the small shrine as he staggered forward. But, no matter how much it hurt, he didn’t jump and drop the basket as he wanted to.

He looked around the clearing to make sure his uncouthness wasn’t caught, sighing in relief when he saw no one was there. He shook his feet and curled his toes in his tiny shoes before he settled into the comfortable routine of tending to the shrine.

Carefully setting down the basket, Lan Zhan hummed one of the Guqin pieces he was learning as he grabbed the broom off to the side and began to sweep off the fallen leaves and dust. The main offering and prayer site was just as tall as him, but the white, wooden covering was taller than even Uncle Qiren. And Uncle was very tall.

Once finished with the usual chores, Lan Zhan kneeled to the ground and brought his hands to his chest in prayer. “ Oh great Master Fox,” his eyes fluttered close as he breathed in the soothing incense, “ This A-Zhan has brought you many offerings. He has brought tofu, fruits, and pieces of his art for your enjoyment,” he listed them with ease, having mentally ran through his words the entire time he was creating the basket.

The wind rustled the leaves of the trees overhead, making the bells and windchimes twinkle and sway. Lan Zhan’s ears twitched at the beautiful, laugh-like sounds that intertwined with the mellow bubble of the nearby stream and the tweeting of the birds.

He thought he heard a bush rustle, but he knew it was probably one of the big, mischievous squirrels that always played and tried to store their nuts in the crannies of the shrine. So, he merely kept his eyes closed and brought his head down into a truly reverent bow.

” This time Master Fox, this Lan Zhan comes with a prayer as well as offerings,” his young voice was strong and his tone controlled, likely coming off as cold and detached as it often did when he spoke to his teachers.

Perfect. His words always needed to be carefully constructed to perfection.

” Da-ge and Uncle haven’t said anything to Lan Zhan, but Lan Zhan thinks Mama is getting sick,” he told the fox, his lip trembling slightly as his carefully constructed thoughts wavered at the thought of his Mama. How he caught sight of the red splatter on her handkerchief when she coughed, despite how she had tried so hard to hide it.

“ M-Mama is sick and she coughs red an–and Da-ge and Uncle talk lots and lots when we visit Mama, Master Fox,” he stuttered, his voice shaking slightly with emotions as that carefully compressed whine rose in his chest. He tried to crush both of them down, but it was hard to keep one of those things down by itself.

It was even harder when he was so scared. He didn’t want Mama to be sick in her little house. She already looked sad enough before Lan Zhan and Da-ge entered the room, with how she stared from her window. She was always startled, like she was seeing Lan Zhan for the first time every time they visited.

” Want, no, n-need Master Fox to look after Mama, puh-please,” he sniffled, an aggrieved and frustrated sob leaving his mouth as he lost all of his carefully held composure. His small hands left his prayer formation, and he roughly scrubbed at his face with upset.

” Shameless, Shameless. No good, A-Zhan. Not perfect at all,” He softly scolded himself, his small form hunching and curling until his ribbon touched the foot of the jade Huli Jing sculpture. His breathless keens and sobs blocked the sound of skittering paw steps on stone.

The four-year-old was so angered with his lack of control that he couldn’t help it when his hands went to clutch at his arms.

As he made to tug and punish himself, his movements were halted when a small creature barreled into his small form. The softest of soft fur curled around his hands and a wet nose dug between his nose and his cheek to lick the salty tears from his pale face.

Lan Zhan flinched and blinked his eyes at the sensations, his vision blurry as he sniffed and squeaked while the small creature licked and licked his face without mercy. Small paws rested on his knees and a helpless giggle left the child’s lips as that tail tickled his hands.

Small digits left their curled position in his thin, white-covered arms to hover over the black-furred body of the small fox. He was hesitant to touch, not wishing to startle or harm the creature that was snuffling and caressing his face so gently.

” You can pet A-Ying. He doesn’t get to meet many who visit these woods,” A deep, feminine voice spoke, making Lan Zhan let out an uncouth and horrible squeak. His gold eyes swiveled to look toward the voice, his eyes widening as he caught sight of a tall woman dressed in white with black fox ears. And so many tails that Lan Zhan couldn’t even count them.

” M-Master Fox!” He exclaimed, his voice cutting off to a reverent whisper as he tried to control his voice. His sleeves scrubbed at his face as he tried to right himself, make himself perfect for her.

The woman smiled softly down at him and knelt, her white robes pillowing and floating to the ground as she sat beside him. The black kit remained on Lan Zhan’s lap, the position close and reassuring to the little boy.

Lan Zhan’s eyes looked between her and the cuddly fox, gobsmacked as he tried to gain his composure. What do you say to a divine being? How different was she from those he knew?

Her appearance was so sudden and startling, it made his throat clam up and his eyes dart to the ground. He needed to be quiet and subservient— ah, but he also needed to express his reverence!

He was spared the embarrassment and ire of the fox as she took amusement with his improper behavior rather than see it as a slight.

” A-Zhan wishes for this Mistress to heal his mother?” She asked, her voice low and her eyes sad. She didn’t look sad, but Lan Zhan could see a similar sadness that his Mama held in her eyes. It made his cheeks puff out slightly as he cursed whoever had dared to make the both of them sad.

He stilled and then took a deep breath, his head nodding as he attempted to bow with the baby fox in his lap. “ L-Lan Zhan knows Mistress Fox to be powerful–“ he forced himself to speak. Swallowing and pushing through that solid weight on his throat and chest.

It was creaking and awkward, but he was doing it. “ This one will do anything she pleases if she is able to help his Mama,” he lowly vowed, his ribbon trailing and dangling across the baby fox’s body.

When he tried to nip at the fabric, the woman tutted and called for ‘A-Ying’ to behave lest she sent him home. Lan Zhan stiffened, a hand instinctively wrapping around the fox as he pouted up at the woman.

A manicured hand went to her mouth and a smooth chuckle rippled through the silence, “ Oh my,” she amusedly exclaimed. Lan Zhan softly smiled when he caught a happy twinkle light over her pretty, silver eyes. Much better. No one deserved to be so sad, he hummed as he absently rubbed his hand over A-Ying’s fur.

The leaves rustled and rubbed against each other for a few moments before Master Fox seemed to steel herself. “ This Mistress can heal A-Zhan’s mother,” she softly told him, a finger raising as Lan Zhan reflexively brightened and his mouth opened in grateful exclamation.

His voice caught and his heart skipped a beat as he took in the hard-to-read look on her face. It was almost chilling in a way that Lan Zhan had never experienced such sternness and severity.

” Yet, such a rewriting of Fate will require a heavy debt,” Her voice was grave like death and her gaze as solid as ice, Lan Zhan shivered. “ Is there something A-Zhan would give to this Mistress to save his mother’s life? Think carefully, Baobei,” the woman gently and soothingly asked, her face softening the smallest margin.

Lan Zhan’s voice was caught in his throat as his mind spun and whirred to a stop, his thoughts wavering back and forth like a pendulum as he mulled over the woman’s words. Before he could start listing some answers, the sound of a sharp shout of his name and quick footfalls startled him.

” A-Zhan!” His uncle’s harried and desperate voice called, his arms outstretched and his face grief-stricken as he came upon the sight of Lan Zhan sitting with the Celestial Fox, Cangse Sanren, and her kit. “ Don’t you say anything lightly, you–” he jolted as he ran into a barrier of her making.

” Qiren,” Cangse Sanren calmly called out as she stood up, her face serene as she went to the barrier that always formed to protect those coming to her for aid. “ Be at peace, you know this one is honest. However… A-Zhan comes to this one asking for her to alter Fate,” she explained, low and grim as she set a hand on Lan Zhan’s shoulder.

Lan Zhan clung to the alert kit, both of their heads swiveling to look between their respective adults. Lan Qiren’s face paled as he staggered back, his breath leaving him as he turned his gaze downward toward Lan Zhan.

He was still so small and soft with the stubborn baby fat clinging to his face and limbs, he looked as guileless as a fawn. The little boy hunched closer to his little friend, his eyes wide and lacking the understanding of why his Uncle was so scared.

” Lan Zhan asked Mistress Fox if she could save Mama,” he told the man unprompted, a curious tilt to his head as he watched the man tremble and grow teary-eyed. Lan Zhan’s inquisitive stare was ignored as the man gave the Cangse Sanren a fierce glare.

” Y-You can’t possibly ask him to give you something like that while he’s so young,” his voice croaked and creaked like the frogs behind the Jingshi. If it weren’t so serious and the space between them so charged, Lan Zhan would have had to hide his smile in the baby fox’s fur.

He didn’t smile as he anxiously nuzzled A-Ying’s twitching body.

Cangse Sanren mournfully looked down at the boy, her sharp, beautiful face pulled into a frown. She knelt before him once more and brought gentle hands to his ducked face, her eyes moving down to look at A-Ying as he barked at her.

Something passed between the both of them, unspoken and unknown to the humans.

She pulled her hands back and gave him a considering look. Lan Qiren anxiously shifted and pressed against the barrier, unmoving at the sharp jolts of Qi that licked at his hands. Before he could speak, Cangse Sanren addressed Lan Zhan with the formality fit for a Heavenly Official.

” Second Young Master Lan. Lan Zhan. Lan Wangji. Hanguang-Jun,” she listed his current and future titles, each one like a gong of lightning, jilting and ringing through the two humans. “ In exchange for healing your mother of her ailments and thus extending her life, this one will collect her debt– something worth a life, something vital to Lan Zhan’s being when Lan Zhan has reached eighteen years of age,” she paused.

” Do you understand these terms?”

Lan Zhan’s heart thundered in his chest as his arms instinctively clung to A-Ying. His breaths fell quick and loud in his ears, a symphony of bodily sounds to his young senses. Something worth a life? Lan Zhan couldn’t imagine what that would be besides his own life.

A-Ying whimpered and begged upward at his mother to have leniency, but he was ignored. “ This is the sort of deal that A-Zhan must think over for a few days, months even,” Cangse Sanren told him, “ This one will not accept if A-Zhan doesn’t give it the proper consideration,”.

Lan Qiren nearly collapsed when the woman stood and stepped away from the boy, her expression unreadable as she called A-Ying to her side. The fox gave the boy a long nuzzle and a lick before he jumped from his loose grip.

When they disappeared, Lan Zhan broke from his pondering as his Uncle ran to his side and swept him from the ground.

Cradled at his hip, Lan Zhan blinked at the pale and terrified expression that lined his uncle’s face. It was deeply unsettling to see his stern, unmoved uncle so expressive and open in his distraught.

” A-Zhan you– you careless little boy,” he gravely cried, his chest shuddering as he firmly pressed his lips to the boy’s forehead. His breathing was warm and quick as it scattered over Lan Zhan’s skin.

From there, Lan Zhan could only look over his uncle’s shoulder as the man all but ran away from the shrine. He was mulling over Mistress Fox’s words, his tiny brow furrowed as he pondered what he would exchange for his mother’s health. His gaze drifted to the shrine, his blank face pulling to a smile when he caught sight of that black baby fox.

” A-Ying,” he murmured, shyly waving to the small fox that had wiggled from his mother’s hold. His distant barks and excited jumps entertained Lan Zhan as they drifted further and further apart, his uncle’s steps fast and clacking down the stone path.

---

It was a year and a half before Lan Zhan was able to find a chance to slip away from his uncle and Da-ge’s ever-watchful eyes and lecturing tones. Their hands were always firm in his when he neared the forest, and the elders and disciples always caught him when he tried to run away from their stuffy classrooms and iron-clad hands.

Lan Zhan didn’t understand it. Didn’t understand all of them even more.

Why were they so adamant about not helping Mama? Leaving her in her small house like that! With pale handkerchiefs speckled with more and more blood. It was driving him towards anger, toward violence, and the wicked path. It made it so hard for Lan Zhan to speak with them-- it, it disgusted him and unsettled his very being from them to blatantly go against the rules!

Do not estrange others from your cohort, Do not be haughty and complacent,Do not take advantage of your position to oppress others-- the rule-breaking made Lan Zhan wish to yell and argue, to throw himself down at Da-Ge and Uncle's feet and cry out, " Why? Why have you abandoned Mama when she needs it most?"

He was pulled from his dark thoughts when A-Ying brushed against his leg. The baby fox had formed an extra tail since they had last met, but he was excited to see Lan Zhan. The five almost six-year-old was swaddled in his fur cloak as they walked toward the shrine, the winter chill seeping into both of them while the moon lit the entire forest.

Everything was a blue hue, the shadows of the trees darker and colder than Lan Zhan was used to. But he wasn’t scared– nervous and slightly giddy from doing something he shouldn’t, but not scared. He couldn't be scared when he was finally doing what was right for Mama.

He knew nothing evil could exist on the Cloud Recesses. Not when Mistress Fox and her child descended from the heavens to grace his home with their presence.

Lan Zhan’s steps quickened as he caught sight of the shrine, his breath fogging in the air with his excitement. The human child slowed when he caught sight of Mistress Fox and the grave line of her back. A stick of incense was burning, the scent of sandalwood tickling Lan Zhan’s nose.

The moon rippled and glittered over her white, furred robes while her black hair pooled down her back like a river of ink. The locks shone like a crow’s back, and the perfect stillness of her frame made her ever more ethereal to the young boy. Her large tails were a cloud of black near her feet, resting on the crystal white snow where they limply twitched and swayed like a wave of black. When he stilled and came to a halt, A-Ying’s wet nose on his leg snapped him from his trance.

He looked down at the quietly whimpering kit. Though he was a fox, Lan Zhan could read the clear worry on the fox’s face, the way his ears pulled back, and his wide, silver eyes caught the moon’s rays.

He was such an expressive and easy-to-read creature— person. Lan Zhan wished everyone were as open as A-Ying.

” A-Zhan is fine, A-Ying,” he whispered in turn, his gloved hand moving to pet the young fox’s head as it rested against his leg. Those eyes slowly blinked and then closed as he nuzzled into his hand. Lan Zhan grounded himself for a few moments as he took his glove off and petted the fox for the first time in close to two years.

His fur was just as heavenly as Lan Zhan remembered it to be. It couldn’t compare to the furs that the child had begged for during their time apart. Those furs weren’t living and warm like his A-Ying was.

A throat clearing brought Lan Zhan’s attention toward the Mistress, his hand pulling back as though he would be scolded by the adult. That was all they did to him nowadays.

Scold and punish him. They held visits to his Mama over his head, telling his Fuqin of his uncouthness and giving him more and more lectures and punishments. He was improper and foolish as an heir to Gusu Lan, too much, Lan Zhan knew.

So, he was surprised when he saw her face, soft as before. Soft like Mama’s. Indulgent. Loving. A pure kindness that other adults lacked in their tense faces and clenched fists.

” A-Zhan,” she called her voice a beckon as she kneeled on the brushed-off step of the shrine. She expectantly looked at him, as though she knew he was always going to meet her tonight of all nights.

Lan Zhan took a shuddering breath and finished crossing the clearing to sit beside her. A-Ying jumped into his lap after shaking off his feet. The pressure and the relaxed way he helped himself to Lan Zhan’s lap made him smile and giggle at the young fox’s casualness.

” Has A-Zhan considered everything this Mistress has said?” Her firm voice made Lan Zhan look up toward her, her face was carefully neutral and her eyes serious as she observed him.

Lan Zhan could only nod. His heart and his mind long since made up. If he had it his way, he would have met with the woman after the first month of their meeting.

” This humble one agrees to Mistress Fox’s deal, as long as A-Zhan’s Mama can be healed of her illness,” Lan Zhan told her, his back straight and his chin raised as he met that steel-like gaze. He asserted how serious he was and tried to show how much older he was. She had to take Lan Zhan seriously now that he had given it an entire year of thinking.

Mistress Fox, Cangse Sanren, one of the few ascended foxes of the Mistress of all Celestial Foxes, Baoshen Sanren, said nothing as she observed the young child before her.

Her eyes flashed and shadowed in tandem as her head shifted and she drew closer, leaning toward Lan Zhan’s plump face with a narrowed gaze. “ Young Master Lan understands he must give something up in exchange for his mother’s extended life,” she stated, the words almost rhetorical in their sternness.

Lan Zhan nodded, his body unflinching under the attention. Silence stretched between them, only the sound of the shuffling of the leaves and the quiet pants of A-Ying. His heart was elevated, his sides expanding with nerves as he looked between his mother and his Zhiji.

For that was what Lan Zhan was. A-Ying’s Zhiji.

But A-Ying could do nothing as he watched the boy make a deal with his mother. Asking her to go against stone-like Fate and inescapable Death, the very wheel of reincarnation, with this wish.

Lan Zhan nodded once more, his tongue moving to lick his lips as he said, “ This one understands. He has given it thought and knows what he will give Mistress Fox in return. He will–” a manicured finger pressed against his lips, firmly closing them and stilling his words.

” A-Zhan has forgotten,” she murmured, her face serious as she kept him from finishing his sentence. The young boy closed his mouth and calmed his pounding heart, his eyes wide as he looked at the divine being.

” A-Zhan must complete the exchange with this Mistress once he is eighteen. No younger, no older,” she told him, her eyelashes fluttering lightly as she pulled herself away from the boy and looked toward the moonlit clearing. Lan Zhan was silent as he watched her sorrowful gaze, her hands moving to rest in her lap as a pained expression nakedly danced across her fine features. Her emotions were telegraphed so clearly through her body, her very soul that Lan Zhan could only feel his heart and chest leap in sympathy.

” For what is the scant few years until then to immortal beings such as ourselves,” she murmured, her face hollow of any mirth or levity to the tense atmosphere. For all of her immortal beauty and power, she looked as though she were going to crumble and melt into nothingness.

Lan Zhan’s fingers flexed and found their way into A-Ying’s thick coat, absently stroking and burying themselves into the kit’s fur. His lips pressed together tightly in their silence, the pressure grounding as he contemplated her words and sadness. A-Ying whimpered at the sight of his mother’s sorrow– a sorrow he only saw during the loneliest of nights, where the press of his nose and the lick of his tongue couldn’t drive away her sadness.

”...T-This one accepts Mistress Fox’s terms,” his young, slightly wavering voice rippled through the air. Pulling and twisting Cangse Sanren away from those terrible memories of blood and greedy hands of fox-like men who had attempted to steal her for themselves. They were more fox than she was, more beast than man in their pursuit of her. Animally killing as they pleased.

Her chest simultaneously clenched and shuddered at that sight before her, the tangled lines of fate that tied her son, their A-Ying, and the Young Master Lan together.

” Is Young Master Lan sure? Your carefully written future may be affected by such a wish. You could lose much and gain little in exchange for keeping this fate from your mother,” She questioned, even more hesitant than she usually would be when faced with such a wish. While she wouldn’t face the consequences of rewriting such a fate, she knew Lan Zhan’s fate could be upturned.

He could be punished. His mother's dying could be the lesser of two evils, in the twisted and tortuous manner in which misfortune taints and plays with mortals’ lives. This was too much responsibility for a five-year-old to shoulder.

All of this swirled behind Cangse Sanren’s pale and clamped lips, such necessary truths kept back so as not to sway the child. She couldn’t sway the boy, for this was what his heart fully desired. Preventing this scene from playing out would go against all that made her and the driving force that was Lan Zhan's will.

When he nodded and repeated himself once more, Cangse Sanren could only nod and close her eyes with a world-weary sigh.

” This Mistress accepts Lan Zhan’s wish,” she stated, her hand stretching out to Lan Zhan’s with an open palm. Somewhat prepared from his obsessive research, Lan Zhan placed his small hand into hers and watched as she performed a series of movements in her other hand. He only flinched lightly when she turned her glowing eyes to him, her fanged mouth opening to a maw-like void.

His breath caught, and a slight grunt of pain sounded as her head dipped and she bit into the flesh of his pale wrist. The pain and pressure were sharp and deep. When she pulled back, Lan Zhan’s eyes caught on the red that stained her pale lips and dripped from her bottom lip. A hypnotizing sight in this blue, white, and black world of the shrine and the clearing.

He then looked down at the red, glittering wound on his wrist. Something tight winded around his core like a waiting viper, the barest wisps of his qi shuddering at the intrusive power.

It was intense and bright, truly divine and terrifying in the way it felt like it could smother him with a single thought. Smite and eat his core if he failed to fulfill his end, as all-consuming and powerful as he knew it would be, given how he had studied and stolen his way into almost every corner of the clan library.

Yet, reading every account of those who had dealt with Mistress Fox was nothing like actually crafting a deal with her. It was the most intense thing he had and would likely ever experience on this mortal plane.

” How does A-Zhan feel?” Cangse Sanren asked, her voice gentle as she made sure to keep her distance from the child. Lest she make him feel threatened and further drive him away from her.

Lan Zhan shifted and considered her words, the sound and shape of them breaking through his shuddering self. His thoughts were scattered and his heart was thudding; he felt faint yet energized. “... A-Zhan d-doesn’t know,” he replied, the silence stretching between them as the child attempted to calm his breath.

A smile twitched on his lips as A-Ying pushed close, his nose tentatively brushing over the bite his mother had given the boy. Lan Zhan lightly flinched yet settled as the fox nuzzled and licked at the numb skin. It didn’t throb and it didn’t hurt. It didn't even bleed all that much, 'Caterized? Self-healing?' Lan Zhan thought to himself in dazed wonder as he stared at the wound.

It just felt strange and indescribable to the young boy, overwhelming in the severity of what it stood for. What he had done behind his Uncle and Da-ge's backs. “ A-Ying,” the child murmured with delight, his wrist twitching one last time as he relaxed and allowed the fox to care for him.

Cangse Sanren watched this scene for a few moments before she was forced to look away, her heart aching.

” This one will speak with A-Zhan once more, when he has reached his eighteen years, until then,” she solemnly announced with a dip of her head, her tall form gracefully standing up as she dismissed herself from the two of them.

Lan Zhan tilted his head in confusion as her pale form dissolved and disappeared into the shadows. Her multitude of obsidian black tails flicked and swam in those blue hues until they too melted into the figureless trees and forest growths.

A-Ying yipped and whined at his mother’s retreating back, but he didn’t follow the woman past his worried stare. Lan Zhan’s soft touch on his face made the fox look back at him. Faced with Lan Zhan’s worried pout and sleepy eyes, A-Ying could only wiggle and lick at his cool cheeks.

Lan Zhan smothered a yawn behind his trailing sleeve, yet that didn’t deter the young fox from sternly yipping at him and jumping off of the five-year-old’s lap. A soft cry sounded from the young boy’s lips as he clumsily pushed himself up from his seat, his numb legs making him fall back down. He giggled as A-Ying licked and licked his face and encouragingly helped him up.

Like this, the fox and boy made their way through the dark forest. When they came to the forest’s edge, A-Ying stilled and paced from where he had skidded to a halt. His keen nose caught the scent of the patrolling cultivators, still unaware of the Second Young Master’s late-night adventure.

Lan Zhan knelt on the snowy ground and flashed the fox a grateful smile. When the fox placed his small paws on his knee and head-butted his chin, the young boy couldn’t help but giggle.

This small and soft sound alerted a nearby disciple. Very soon, Lan Qiren was awoken and fell into a distraught, near qi-deviated state when he discovered what Lan Zhan had done.

For he had made a deal with a celestial fox– a deal that could very well take his life and his cultivation from him, lest it remain unfulfilled. For many years, cultivators and commonfolk alike told stories of the elusive Madam Lan and her sheltered son, Lan Wangji.

Outsiders saw nary a sliver of hair nor a finger and the both of them had never left the mountain for as long as they had joined the Gusu Lan sect.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng was equal parts nervous and excited to go to the Gusu Lan for their acclaimed cultivation lessons. He was excited to be away from his Fuqin and Muqin, for one. The tension between them over the years had been unbearable, and his Fuqin’s sad, wistful smile made him wish for his Muqin’s overflowing rage.

He couldn’t achieve a single trick or complete a lone nighthunt without the pathetic man talking about some mysterious, long-dead child of a former servant of his. Even dead and forgotten, the boy was already several imaginary leaps and strides ahead of him.

Two, he was excited to spend time with only him and his Jie. Even though they were currently waiting and barred from the Lan entrance without their passes, he was overjoyed to have her calm presence by his side.

” Here, A-Cheng, warm-up,” she pressed a bowl of soup made from their rations into his hands, the gesture earning her a small smile and a pleased, “ Thank you, Jie,” as he settled back around the fire.

And finally, he was feeling a little unnerved by the Gusu Lan as a whole. Over the past decade, the outer sects had been closed out from the Lans due to a highly sensitive personal matter. Now at 16 years old, Jiang Cheng and the various number of prominent heirs had finally been able to be invited to the lessons.

They had gone entire years without seeing the current acting Grandmaster, Lan Qiren, or the Son of Qingheng-Jun, Lan Xichen. His mother had seen it as the perfect way to pigeon-hole Jiang Cheng into getting a better relationship with the Nie Sect– but that had fallen flat on its face given how tight-lipped that lot had been...

Although gossip was forbidden amongst the Lan, that didn’t keep everyone from murmuring and pondering on what had called for such total disappearance of physical contact. Only the most outer of outer disciples tended to trading or discussion conferences, and every one of the Jiang disciples was interested in such reasons.

” I heard that Madam Lan took a rope to Lan Xichen and hung him in a fit of insanity. And then Qingheng-Jun cut her to pieces and fed her to the dogs in Caiyi Town,” one of his younger Shidi spoke, his tone bellying a conspiratorial note to it.

An older Shimei scoffed, rolling her eyes, “ Yeah right,” she crossed her arms and leaned back and a smirk, “ I heard that Lan Xichen is a bastard from Madam Lan having an affair with that Grandmaster, Lan Qiren– Qingheng-Jun’s own blood,” murmurs broke out in interest.

Jiang Cheng snorted, swallowing his spoonful of soup, “ What about the second heir then, Lan Zhan?” He challenged. If one heir was a bastard, then why would the sect leader bed the Madam and have another kid? Unless they were both Lan Qiren’s.

A confused silence stretched between the disciples, “ There’s a second Lan heir, Da-Shixiong?” The youngest Shimei asked, her small voice bewildered and innocent. Jiang Cheng frowned at her shadowed face, the fire cracking and snapping as he looked over his disciples.

He set his bowl down and leaned back against the tree behind him, “ Yeaah? Lan Zhan, he should be around my age considering how much Nie-Huaisang whined about not having him as his playmate anymore.”... Apparently the Nie had been even more tight-lipped than he thought, considering how everyone was looking at him as though he had grown a second head.

” Nie-Gongzi played with a Lan Zhan?” The voices asked, the rush of energy rising with the new information. New theories sparked and took flight. Now this faceless ‘Lan Zhan’ of a young, lonely Nie-Huaisang’s childhood was an ill-fated youth who had tragically passed in an accident.

” How did Nie-Gongzi describe him? Did he look more like Qingheng-Jun or Lan Qiren?” They asked, looking to him with beseeching eyes and gossip-hungry pouts. Ever open to the attention and acceptance of others, Jiang Cheng ignored Jiang Yanli’s worried look and hand on his shoulder.

The teen shrugged off his older sister’s hand, gentle yet firm, as he settled into his storytelling. “ Nie-Huaisang described him as a shy kid, quiet most of the time, and then a chatty one once you brought up something he found interesting. He said they were pretty young last time they saw each other, so I don’t know much else about that,” he explained, his smile growing wider as the gathered disciples chattered.

” Nie-Gongzi was pretty adamant that Lan Zhan must have died or something, since Nie Mingjiue has been pretty tight-lipped about the whole ordeal,” he said, his tone taking on a bored and drawling note as all of the disciples leaned forward in interest.

A throat cleared behind them, startling the entire group of Jiang disciples and making them let out some unsightly squeaks and eeps. Multiple swords were pulled from their sheaths before they turned and caught sight of the Lan cultivator standing a few paces away.

His face was notably tired under the glow of the fire, with an almost gauntness clinging to his features. The majority of the gathered disciples had no idea who this person was, so they all turned to Jiang Cheng with an expectant air.

Jiang Cheng stood up and bowed, his face feeling warm at being caught gossiping about the sect in the hearing range of the Lan cultivator. “ Apologies, Gongzi, we didn’t hear you approach,” the Jiang head disciple apologized, his form perfect and his tone controlled.

The Lan cultivator shallowly dipped his head, his jaw clenched tightly as he regarded the group of cultivators. “ This one understands, curiosity is bound to twist and turn to rumor when one is ignorant of such matters,” he spoke, low and neutral, before he slightly turned.

The Jiang disciples grew even more embarrassed at these words, some of them looking away even further when the cultivator introduced himself and his purpose. “ This one is Lan Xichen. A disciple informed this one of a group of Jiang disciples who have misplaced their invitation. Is such a group yourselves?”

Jiang Cheng nodded, stiff and uncomfortable at the air that lingered. “ That is correct, this one is Jiang Cheng, courtesy name Jiang Wanyin, and that is this one’s sister, Jiang Yanli. Pleased to be receiving Lan-Gongzi’s presence,” he politely returned the introduction with an even politer bow. Jiang Yanli approached and bowed as well.

“The Jins bought out all of the inns, and we had misplaced our invitation somewhere along the way,” he explained, nervous and shifting as Lan Xichen’s golden eyes looked over him.

” May Jiang-Gongzi and Jiang-Guniang provide this one with something to prove their identity?” Lan Xichen’s neutral voice made them blink. The precaution and sense of distrust made all of the Jiang grow even more curious, their thoughts flying with each word.

They nodded, stepping forward and displaying their spiritual bells, as well as Jiang Cheng unsheathing his sword as another indicator. Seemingly satisfied, Lan Xichen silently turned, the lantern he was carrying lighting up with a spark of his Qi. “ This way,” he spoke, soft and slow as he allowed them to pack up their supplies.

The Jiang disciples exchanged bewildered looks, their eyes flickering and darting under the diminishing firelight as they scrambled to put it out. They didn’t dare speak within earshot of the cultivator, lest they insult him further.

The trek up the stone stairs was slow as they followed Lan Xichen, the soft brush of their robes on the rock and the leaves rustling in the wind the only sound in the night.

Weary eyes met even more frequently under the dappled moonlight, and the air was… very strange. They followed the lamplight like moths, the white of Lan Xichen’s robes akin to a ghost’s glow. ‘Was this even real?’ Many of them thought, ‘Is Lan Xichen really there or is this specter the lost Lan heir guiding them to his burial site?’

Soon enough, the group came to the entrance of the sect, the disciples’ expressions as grim and unyielding as when the Jiang entourage had first approached. Yet, with Lan Xichen’s presence, they easily moved to the sides to allow the party through.

” We have set aside a hall for the Jiang family and their disciples. Please excuse the lack of meal as our kitchens have closed with the curfew,” Lan Xichen quietly spoke as they came upon a hall, his body once more turning to face them. His mellow expression was made into something haunted and foreboding as he looked over them.

The Jiang entourage lowly murmured their thanks, while Jiang Cheng and Yanli murmured their reassurances. Satisfied that they were settled, Lan Xichen nodded and then walked off without a further word.

....Alright then.

Everyone let out a soft breath at the dismissal, though rude, it was clear that there was something visibly off within the Gusu Lan.

They hurriedly flowed into the hall, energized and carrying the same level of intrigue as though their arrival was a night hunt. Even without the years of silence, there was a tangible air of mystery and some sort of weighty pressure

” Did Da-Shixiong feel like… something was watching him as we entered the gates?” One of the youngest Shidi sniffled, lingering in the hall as he caught Jiang Cheng’s sleeve. The kid was eleven and had only covered the standard forms, not even having gone on his first night hunt yet.

Jiang Cheng paused, and everyone within listening distance lingered in their doorways. The head disciple and heir sighed before he squatted down, giving the kid a heavy-handed ruffle on his loose bangs.

” Dong-Shidi mustn’t worry himself over that,” Jiang Cheng murmured with a conspiratory air, his body shifting side to side as he contemplated his next few words. “ Nie-Gongzi told this Da-Shixiong of another interesting rumor before he grew tired of our playdates,” he told the kid, a small smile coming to his lips as the boy gave him a wide-eyed look.

Jiang Cheng spoke in a voice that would allow anyone else to hear him as he said, “ Young Lan Zhan used to rant and rave about a holy fox spirit that protected the mountain and the Lans. He and other Lan members would call it Master Fox and leave offerings to the godly creature in exchange for wishes and favor,” he spoke slowly.

Dong-Shidi perked up, “ Just like our ancestors,” he breathed out in relief, his heart settling and his nerves cooling over once more. Jiang Cheng nodded, a fond smile coming over his face as he stood up.

When he turned, he regarded his lingering Shidimeis. He cleared his throat and spoke pointedly, “ All we must do to appease the spirit is respect the land and the people, and all will be well,” he instructed the older disciples. They nodded and scurried off to bed.

Since Jiang Cheng and his sister were exhausted from the days of travel and the interaction with Jin Zixuan, they quickly fell into an easy slumber.

-----

The greeting ceremony went off without a hitch, all things considered. The gifts were given, yet the entire feeling of dread and exhaustion continued to permeate the air. Lan Qiren was a visibly unwell-looking man, his beard scraggly from a lack of care, while his form was thin and his face haggard.

There was only one heir, standing at his side. Providing evidence to the rumors that the Jiang had discussed late into the night.

Jiang Cheng was terribly disturbed by the Lan at this point, his gaze suspicious at the lack of Lan disciples. They scarcely crossed paths with any disciples, and those that they did pass held their heads down and their shoulders drawn up in defense.

” Jie, I really don’t like this,” Jiang Cheng murmured, his hand wordlessly gesturing for his shidimei to surround her in a protective formation. When they crossed paths with the Jin entourage heading toward the dining hall later that day, they too held disturbed expressions.

They wordlessly entered the hall, the only energized cultivators even daring to chatter in the strained air being the Nie entourage. When Jiang Cheng looked up, he was surprised to see Nie Huaisang freely sitting with Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. That had to go against one of the thousands of rules, yet his presence seemed to soothe some sort of hurt for the two Lan members.

’ Maybe Lan Zhan did pass prematurely?’ Jiang Cheng mused, begrudgingly finishing the bland soup and rice with a poorly concealed grimace. Pigs ate better than this, he glared down at the food.

He watched with poorly concealed interest as Nie Huaisang and the Nie head disciple were led off a side door, separate from the other disciples. The older students of his entourage murmured by his elbows, their low voices stirring and encouraging his curiosity.

” We should explore the Lan grounds, while we have the chance,” second Shixiong muttered, his eyes flicking around the clearing as they exited the dining hall. Jiang Yanli made an unsure sound in the back of her throat, her shoulders rising as she shook her head.

” ShidiMei should focus on their studies,” she argued, her displeasure with the idea clear in the curve of her frown and her furrowed brows. “ Don’t you bunch go causing problems when we’ve been blessed with such a rare experience,” she scolded, her gaze low as they walked past the Jin entourage.

Jiang Cheng scowled at them, but he allowed himself to walk on. “ Bastard,” he muttered once they were out of hearing range, his scowl strengthening as they made their way toward their residency hall to grab their supplies for class.

The days and weeks passed in a slow, crawling manner. Each day, they were tightly monitored by the Lan disciples, nary a foot or a head displaced from the areas that they were expressly allowed to enter. That same oppressive air remained, no matter how familiar the outer and inner Lan disciples grew with the outsiders.

” They are hiding something, Jie. Something big,” Jiang Cheng complained, his paranoia and the itch of a night hunt lingering over him. He paused in his pacing, his robes flicking and whipping with his energized movements as he waited for Jiang Yanli’s reply.

She was nursing a migraine, her form crippled and her expression pained as she listened to her brother’s aggravated, low tones. “ Fine,” she softly sighed, her face scrunching up as she turned on her back, the warm compress pressed to her eyes, “ You’re old enough to know right and wrong. Please leave before you make me throw up from your pacing,” she tacked on, a tinge of sadness lining her voice as she turned to face the wall.

Jiang Cheng sighed, hesitating on what to say to soothe his sister. Silence stretched for a moment before he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

His door opened with a soft rattle, the sound loud in the darkness of the night. Jiang Cheng lightened the sound of his footsteps as he walked through the silent hall. He had worked the disciples extra hard that day, left to the clearing as they were. Despite being the head disciple, he actually preferred it when he went on solo night-hunts.

The younger disciples could be distracting, and the success of the older disciples brought a nasty taste to his mouth. His mother’s critical eyes and biting words were sharp in his mind as they solved the case sooner or killed the beast first. She was a surly woman, even when Jiang Cheng was perfect.

He held his breath as he waited for the patrolling Lans to pass, his back pressed to the dark wall between a hall and the servants’ quarters.

Jiang Cheng was past the Hanshi and the Lanshi, the stretch of woods behind a gate with patrolling cultivators. The gate was closed, preventing the Lan and the outsiders from entering and leaving the woods as they wished. That seemed exceptionally strict, as though the Cloud Recesses were a jail.

’ Were they held captive once they joined? Barred from enjoying the beauty of the surrounding landscape?’ Jiang Cheng pondered, his eyes darting around the clearing as he watched the pattern. The patrol was serious, like a never-ending march of ants as they turned and covered each other's backs on the watch posts.

Something furry brushed against his leg, startling him and forcing him to look downward. Thick brows furrowed as he caught sight of a black cat, the creature silent and curling toward him as it gently pawed at his leg.

Jiang Cheng was perplexed, as he knew there were no pets allowed, and he had only seen wild birds. He suspiciously watched the cat as it butted its head on his shin, its silver eyes gleaming in the darkness. The cultivator knew better than to talk to the creature, but when he knelt to inspect it, he jolted as it ran off.

It slinked like a shadow as it ran under the sliver of the moon, the crescent winking as it noiselessly padded behind a shrub near the wall. Faced with his intrigue and his instincts, Jiang Cheng wearily thought of his options.If he got caught after curfew, he would be punished. If he got caught trying to get out into the woods, he would be punished to a higher degree. If he claimed the cat to be his own escaped pet, he would once more be punished for even having it.

As he turned the idea over in his head, he jerked from thought as the sudden sound of yowling filled the air. It was loud and jarring in the silence, and the cultivators reacted as though it were a common occurrence. Jiang Cheng straightened as the Lan cultivators looked aside, the distraction allowing him a scant few seconds to jump into the shrubs.

With how silently the cultivators went through their routine of dealing with the yowling creature, Jiang Cheng was forced to use qinggong as he bounded across the path and carefully slid into the brush. The leaves gently rustled as he crawled under the thick shrubbery, the hole that the cat used to get to and fro just wide enough for him to squeeze through.

It was still a tight squeeze, the thick rock impossibly smoothed as he quietly squeezed himself through the hole. He held his breath when footsteps passed his hiding spot, but they didn’t stop to examine him.

He sighed when he popped up on the other side, his Qi quickly healing the scuffs on his cheeks and his body as he hid in the shrubbery close to the outer wall.

When he caught his breath, Jiang Cheng was surprised when he looked to his left and caught the glimmer of the cat’s eyes. It was watching him, its tail soundlessly stirring the leaves as it seemed to watch him with interest and excitement. He inwardly grimaced, scolding himself for his rashness.

Normal cats usually didn’t have multiple tails. But he was hooked, he needed to know what this creature was, and he didn’t plan on getting caught anytime soon.

Jiang Cheng moved tight against the wall, hopefully out of the sight of the cultivators atop the gate and watchtower. When he came to a bridge of shadow, he quickly scuttled and moved into the trees. No voices sounded from behind him as he followed the cat, yet he felt the cat’s presence.

It was close as it twined between his legs, its eyes intelligent and bright as it guided him deeper into the woods.

Soon, he came upon a cottage in the woods. It was modest and well-cared for, yet it was clear that it had been built to hide something… Or someone, Jiang Cheng’s thoughts raced and his heart thudded as he observed the hut from behind a tree. His eyes looked around the clearing, the enclosed garden space, and the pavilion in the back.

The Gusu Lan were hiding someone–isolating them deep in the woods, guarded with patrolling cultivators…Cool, cool….

His face grew grim as theories and rumors passed through his mind. There had to be some sort of monitoring talisman in place, something to keep track of whoever was held in the cottage. Was it the disappeared Lan Zhan and the faceless Madam Lan?

The cat caught his attention, its pawed hand slapping at his boot. He glared down at it in reprimand, but the cat remained unfazed by his look. It even let out a human-like snicker that made Jiang Cheng whip his head around in reflex. “ What are you?” He whispered to the creature, his hand moving to rest upon his sword as he frowned at it.

Whiskers twitched with humor as the creature pranced in front of him, its five tails playfully waving in the air. Or at least what Jiang Cheng assumed was playful, as he never had a cat for a pet or allowed them to linger where his spirit dogs could injure or torment them.

It, of course, didn’t answer him. It merely barked like a dog and twirled in a circle, its tails moving in a hypnotizing manner. Jiang Cheng felt his temper rise as the beast made nonsensical sounds, moving like a drunkard. If it didn’t quiet, it would alert those in the house or guarding the surrounding area.

Just as he made to silence the creature, he watched as it morphed into a fox– the sight forcing Jiang Cheng’s jaw to drop. No way.

” Ah,” he softly swallowed, stepping from the bush and offering the medium-sized fox an adequate bow. “ Pardon this one, he was unaware of Master Fox’s presence,” he lowly murmured, his face paling as he was faced with the five-tailed divine fox.

It laughed at him, the sound low and masculine, guttural and growling yet still human-ish sounding enough like a large cat. Jiang Cheng looked up, his lips pressed to a line as the fox continued to jump and flop on the ground like an idiot. His gaze moved to the cottage as he tentatively straightened out.

” Is Master Fox leading this one to his…” Jiang Cheng trailed off, unsure and confused as he looked between the lively fox and the deathly still cottage. The fox whirled and twirled on two legs, its spiritual presence light and almost unnoticeable in the charged mountain’s air.

” What?” Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes at the fox, anger stirring as it continued to play with him. “ What do you–” the feeling of other eyes cut him off, his head looking to the side as a figure silently approached from the dark courtyard.

” A-Ying,” the tall figure spoke, low and reprimanding despite their masculine, monotonous tone, “ Why did you lead someone here?” They asked, their face shadowed under the canopy of the trees. Jiang Cheng’s hair stood up on his neck, the sudden appearance making his heart race once more.

The figure was standing in pure shadow, yet it was clear that they were tall, and they sounded like they were around his age. Their tone is unmistakably male-sounding, a teenage boy, then. Yes, the mystery was slowly making sense, but the question still remained. Why?

The fox jumped at the boy’s legs, bounding and flouncing around his tall figure until his arms were held out in silent offer. The medium-sized fox gracefully leapt into those arms.

” Who are you?” Jiang Cheng forced his frustration to brew in his stomach, rather than display in his voice. “ Are you the fox’s retainer?” He tacked on, gaze observant of the pair as they seemed to speak without a word or growl breaking the silence. Waited for his theories to be proven.

The boy hummed in a negative tone, as he seemed to consider Jiang Cheng. His black figure and the feeling of a lingering gaze made the cultivator bristle, his hand once more reflexively hovering over his sword as he stared back at the mystery boy.

Without a word, the boy stepped into the clearing. Jiang Cheng blinked in confusion as he was faced with the exact copy of Lan Xichen’s face. Those cheekbones were sharp as knives under the light, his skin pale, and his golden eyes almost ethereal. The resemblance was extremely uncanny.

” Lan…Zhan?” Jiang Cheng asked, his mind whirring as he looked over the teen. His face was notably younger than the other teen he had met, his height different from the scant few moments the head disciple had caught sight of him. The growl that tore through the fox told him he was right, but the personal name was apparently off limits.

” A-Ying,” the teen sighed, the fox’s snout hooking under the pale teen’s chin as those tails poofed and protectively curled around his form. “ This one is Lan Zhan, Wangji to outsiders,” he said stiffly, his gaze firm as he looked away from the fox.

” Apologies,” Jiang Cheng replied, respectful and stiff. It was stifling, standing next to these two. “ This one has let his curiosity bring him to Lan Wangji’s home. Many apologies for the disturbance,” he spoke diplomatically, the words almost textbook in how rehearsed and fake they sounded.

Lan Wangji stared at him. It unsettled the Jiang heir, how he and the fox stared and stared at him. As though they were analyzing the weight of his soul.

He shifted, and then the other teen spoke, “ Why are you here? You are breaking the rules.” he shifted, his chin tilting upward as his eyes narrowed. “ Outsiders mustn’t enter unauthorized areas. Venturing out at night is prohibited. Do not act impulsively,” his words fell like rain, pounding on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders.

Jiang Cheng chewed back his scowl. He raised a hand to point at this ‘A-Ying’, who was shamelessly snuggled up to the other cultivator. “ This one was merely following the will of the Master Fox; he was led toward Lan-er-Gongzi by the immortal master of these woods. Excuse this one’s ignorance,” he forced out, his fists clenched together as he bowed once more.

When he glanced upward, he watched the teen’s blank face soften into a frown. It was almost unnoticeable if he hadn’t been watching them so closely. The teen murmured something in reprimand toward the small fox before a feminine laugh stirred from the shadows behind him.

Jiang Cheng whipped around, his sword finally leaving its sheath as he looked at the new bystander. His sword wavered from where it was pointed at the woman– the goddess before him! She was so beautiful, and she seemed to shine under the moonlight.

” A-Ying is merely playing with Jiang-Gongzi. He is not the Master Fox he portrays himself to be, for that is this Lady,” she murmured, her voice soft and her gaze belling a deep sadness as she glided past him. Her eyes, wells of darkness, lingered and absorbed his face and figure like a tangible sensation.

She was not happy to see him, Jiang Cheng instinctively understood. His fist paled on Sandu’s hilt as he felt every muscle within him tense. When he made to speak, it felt as though the air had condensed itself into ice.

He coughed, taking a step back from the woman with a shiver. “ Apologies for entering your territory in such a foolish manner, Mistress Fox,” Jiang Cheng hurriedly apologized, his voice weak and everything within him crying to flee. To run away and never return to Gusu Lan again.

” Mama, leave him alone,” a sudden voice sounded, young and masculine yet whining in its pitch and droning manner. When he looked to the side, Jiang Cheng caught sight of a lean teen, tan and tall with five black tails behind him and long ears. Compared to the Mistress and the endless collection of furs lining her back, it was very clear that this boy was much weaker.

Less trained and developed, compared to his mother. She was more human than the boy, her disguise perfect to the eye. Allowing the viewer only to see what she wanted them to see. However, the teen’s form was shaky at best, his features morphing into a muzzle here and there while his eyes often flashed with feline-like pupils.

He shamelessly clung to Lan Wangji, his robes as dark as the night with cuts of red as he nuzzled to the boy’s side. It was a clear juxtaposition, those two side by side. Lan Wangji was expressionless and unmoved by the shameful display, his hair perfectly pinned and his robes laid like he was to appear before an emperor.

This A-Ying had a loose, lazily tied ponytail, and his robes appeared as though they were tied with the fox’s paws rather than his fingers. Everything about him was wild and unrumpled, and the Lan cultivator and the immortal woman didn’t spare his appearance a glance.

” A-Ying mustn’t approach random cultivators, especially ones who carry symbols and colors such as that boy,” the woman spoke, her words a slap in the face to the Jiang heir while her hand pointed at him. What of his clan symbol? He hadn’t done anything violent or offensive to cause the woman to shun the Jiang clan.

Before he could reply, A-Ying let out an animalistic bark, his tongue sticking out as he gave his mother a pleading look. “ But Mama, he came to me. He clearly wishes for something, deep within his heart,” the teen stated, his arms crossing and his stance growing confident.

Eyes pinned Jiang Cheng to where he stood, their gazes glacial, “ Oh?” Mistress Fox murmured, her stance predatory as she rounded around Jiang Cheng, the young man slightly quivering in his boots.

Gaining some of his determination, he raised his chin as she stopped in front of him. His gaze bordered on challenging as he addressed her, “ This one was following Fox Gongzi in his disguised form. Merely wishing to seek an understanding of the Gusu Lan sect and what they might be hiding. He was not seeking out Mistress Fox and her child,” he told them, awkward and rigid as he bowed under her stare.

She stared for what felt like years, the trickling of sweat making him wish to move and squirm. Yet Jiang Cheng remained still.

” Fine.” She almost huffed, elegant as she dismissed him, “ Do not make it a habit,” she spoke icily, turning, and then a large fox pranced where she had stood. She was gigantic, her tails a curtain of fur as she stood as tall as him while on four limbs. She was nearly as large as the largest Jiang family spirit dog, and Peony was as large as a warhorse.

Jiang Cheng bowed while she stared down at him, her fur just as dark as A-Ying’s, yet it held streaks of silver over her body. They whirled into patterns reminiscent of the clouds at dawn, soft and swirling over her legs and arms. She was majestic, and her presence was crushing as she stared at him in her true form.

’A-Ying’ yipped and barked at her, his form akin to a small dog compared to her own size. His meager five tails flicked and curled in irritation, the tips tickling at her nose as he pranced and strutted under her chin.

Mistress Fox merely huffed before she stopped staring at Jiang Cheng, her tongue lapping over her child’s head. When Jiang Cheng looked over to make conversation with Lan Wangji, he found the other teen staunchly ignoring him. No matter how much he turned his head or subtly cleared his throat, the other human was focused on the show his friend was putting on.

Jiang Cheng inwardly grumbled, looking up at the moon before he pointedly caught the smaller fox’s attention. “ Does Ying-Gongzi have the time to lead this one back to the gate?” He politely asked, the question earning him some muddy paw-prints on his white pants as the fox energetically bounded over and jumped at his legs.

” Ack!” Jiang Cheng pulled away, the dirt smearing onto his purple robes.

” Jiang Wanyin shall call my child Wuxian, rather than by his personal name,” the woman cooly corrected him, her eyes like ice as she seemed to melt into the shadows. The cultivator shuddered, nodding while Wuxian scodingly barked at his mother, his little feet digging into the dirt as he assertively jumped into her face.

She swatted him to the side with a gentle flick of some of her tails, amusement sparkling in her eyes. “ A-Ying may escort Young Master Jiang to his sleeping quarters,” she spoke, her mouth moving while she tilted her head back, moderate-sized teeth trying to nip at her.

” Behave,” she ordered, the words a tangible pressure that eased the juvenile fox’s annoyance. He demurely butted his head to her leg, nuzzling and licking her in filial submission before he padded over to Jiang Cheng.

” A-Zhan,” the fox plopped down in front of Jiang Cheng, his tongue lolling over his teeth in a friendly grin as he beckoned for the other teen to follow after them. The Lan cultivator shifted, his face blank and his body language difficult to read as silence stretched between them.

Before Jaing Cheng could lose his temper and bark at them to get a move on, the boy seemed to make up his mind with a nod. Silent as a cat, the Lan floated toward them, standing at Wuxian’s side as the fox bounded around Jiang Cheng and energetically led the way.

They moved through the shadows of the woods. The only sound that broke the silence of the night and the rustling of the leaves in the summer night was the sound of Wuxian jumping on each skittering leaf that fell to the ground. He’d scuffle with it and then jump into the bushes, the foliage around them shifting as Wuxian traveled hidden.

Once satisfied, he would re-enter and place the perfect leaf into Lan Wangji’s outstretched palm.

Jiang Cheng side-eyed Lan Wangji as they walked, but there wasn’t much to see in the darkness of the woods. His pale skin caught each moonray like the glistening of the sun on water. Compared to his own sun-warmed skin, the teen truly looked like a ghost or a piece of jade.

”...Why are you kept away from the others?” Jiang Cheng asked, bracing himself from the potential offense the other young man could take with him. An uninterested hum sounded.

” It is required,” he simply stated, not expanding upon the reason or his feelings on the matter. Frustration lanced through him, thorough and almost all-consuming. He was used to people getting straight to the point– not any of this mysterious, unanswered business.

He wanted to take the boy by the shoulders and grab the pesky fox by one of his tails and shake out the answers he sought.

No matter how he worded it or how much he pried, the Lan cultivator remained tight-lipped on the matter. And when they came to the wall, the fox played another prank to distract the guards and allowed Jiang Cheng to slip into the Cloud Recesses walls.

He made his way back to the Jiang sleeping quarters and slipped into his and Jiang Yanli’s guest hut. On the other side of the small house, he could hear his sister shift in the bed. Her pale face eventually looked at him as the door slowly slid open, her breath left her, and she gave him an unhappy look.

And then she silently went back to bed, her eyes lingering on the mud lining his clothes.

By the end of the year, Jiang Cheng was unsatisfied with their stay at the Cloud Recesses. It had been uneventful, except for the night he had snuck off into the woods. When he had tried a second time, he had gotten caught almost instantly.

It had been as though something had pointed him out to the guards, the way they instantly swarmed upon him. When he had been brought to plead his case before the thin and weary Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren, they had almost expelled him outright.

But here he was now, lighting lanterns with Jiang Yanli at his elbow only through pledging his obedience and by keeping a low profile. They’d allowed that Jin Zixuan to all but walk over them, just to save face from the disgrace that would come from getting expelled from the program.

” Lighten up, A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli lowly murmured, her own eyes tired and her face pale with emotion. Jin Zixuan was surrounded by young women, openly conversing and allowing conversation to continue, publicly disrespecting his betrothed. “ Just one more year,” her voice trailed off, weak and low as she stared at the fire next to them.

Jiang Cheng’s jaw ached from how hard he clenched his teeth, the paintbrush snapping in his hand as he finally reached the end of his patience. Before he could go up and assault the young man, he was caught off guard by the sight of a bush rustling and a certain black cat approaching their spot on the outskirts.

” What are you–” he was cut off by the sound of Jiang Yanli’s pleased hum, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the normal-looking cat. But Jiang Cheng knew who that was, the troublesome fox having irked and pranked him throughout the year.

” Look at this cute cat,” Jiang Yanli smiled, her hand rubbing over Wuxian’s head. Jiang Cheng was torn between two conflicts, his heart thundering as he subtly looked around for the presence of the Mistress Fox. To be this far into the Cloud Recesses, the Mistress wouldn’t have allowed the teen to go alone.

” What are you doing here?” He hissed as he crouched down in front of the cat, currently snuggled and pleased with himself as Jiang Yanli pulled him to her lap. His hands itched to grab the cat and toss him aside, away from his innocent older sister.

The cat simply looked toward the young woman, his eyes glistening with intrigue. “ It is here to enjoy our company, A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli spoke, placatingly, yet her eyes held a suspicious glint as he crowded close to them.

” That isn’t a normal cat, Li-Jie,” Jiang Cheng whispered, his back and palms sweating as he stretched his senses out. Monitoring the Lan family members and their Shidimei. “ Let this A-Cheng take care of it,” the cultivator urged, his hands stretching out toward the mystical creature.

” Is something distracting Jiang-Gongzi and Jiang-Guniang?” A voice made Jiang Cheng pause, his head turning to see Lan Xichen walking toward them. “...Ah,” he trailed off, catching sight of the cat making himself comfortable on Jiang Yanli’s lap.

Golden eyes turned to Jiang Yanli, looking over her unassuming features with something like hesitancy behind his drawn expression. “ Does– Is there anything perhaps weighing upon Jiang-Guniang?” He haltingly asked, his face a smooth mask of diplomacy as she analyzed the sect heir’s face.

Her hand lingered on Wuxian’s back, the bastard purring while that tail wrapped around her wrist. “ No. Apologies if this one worried Lan-Gongzi with her air. Everything is fine,” she ended up shaking her head, her lips pulling into a fake smile. It was not that different from her usual smile, her eyes dull and unmoved by the muscles.

Lan Xichen looked at her for a moment before he turned his gaze to the fox. “ You heard her,” he spoke, soft yet firm, his hands clasped in front of him, trembling and bony in their thinness.

Wuxian got up with a bark, his form shuddering and then erupting into his fox form with an offended air. The surrounding cultivators drew up in interest, their gazes moved toward the noise. Given that the Lan held no dogs or other animals, the sound stood out like the crack of lightning during the day.

” Your presence is unneeded here, Young Master Fox,” Lan Xichen continued, unmoving as Jiang Yanli fled behind Jiang Cheng’s form, her eyes wide and staring at the medium-sized fox, as large as a juvenile spirit dog.

Wuxian’s tails shook as he barked once more, his eyes glinting and wide as Lan cultivators came closer to the divine fox. They jointly surrounded and separated the outsiders from the scene, their faces grim as they watched Wuxian wiggle in outrage.

” A heart has called out to me. She wishes for this fox to right the wrongs in her life!” Wuxian argued, his tails flicking as his spiritual energy began to fill the clearing. It was the outrage of the budding divine, a crisp ozone that tinged the air and made the nearby cultivator’s arm hair rise.

” You! What do you wish for?” Wuxian tried to prance toward the young woman, but she flinched and hid deeper behind Jiang Cheng’s back. Her weak constitution would do little in defense against the divine fox, the rumored protector and inhabitant of the Cloud Recesses mountains.

” Leave us out of this!” Jiang Cheng yelled out, eagerly shielding Jiang Yanli and unsheathing Sandu, he leveled it at Wuxian. Lan Xichen took a sharp intake of breath while Lan Qiren shouted at him, demanding that he sheath his blade.

Lan Qiren was a sweep of robes as he stepped between them, his gaze fierce. “ Young Master Fox need not concern himself with outsider problems. He has much more pressing matters to attend to,” he glowered, his voice steely and all-encompassing.

Wuxian snarled, low and deep. And then he turned and bounded off into the woods, disappearing into a shadow with the skill of a weasel.

” We’re leaving, now,” Jiang Cheng announced, securing a hold around Jiang Yanli’s elbow and escorting her away from their crushed and dirtied lantern. The Jiang entourage followed after them, and they were neatly back on their way to Lotus Pier.

” Forget what that creature spoke of. He is nothing but a liar,” Jiang Cheng told his sister as they sat for tea in an inn, some hours flying away from the isolated walls of Cloud Recesses.

Jiang Yanli forlornly stared into her cup, her eyes red and her lips pulled into a tight line. Her hands shook as she brought her sleeve to her eye, dabbing at the tears. Her chest ached for what could have been offered– what could have been changed.

She nodded, weakly smiling at Jiang Cheng, “ Of course, A-Cheng,” she lowly murmured, her hand lightly resting on her chest. She set her cup down on the table and stood up, “ Excuse me, I’m retiring first,” she spoke, polite and light. When she turned and left in a swirl of fabric, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but glare at the wall.

He upended and broke the tea set with a curse.

And then when they returned after taking some light-hearted detours– luxurious distractions– Jiang Cheng was met by the familiar sounds and sights of his mother’s snarling voice and his father’s helpless face. There was a formal edict inviting young heirs and their inner disciples to attend the Wen training curriculum in the summer.

Chapter Text

All was still throughout the woods. Lady Chang’e was slowly making her way through the sky behind Xihe’s chariot, the moon rabbits and three-legged ravens flicking and flouncing with their decrees and requests. All while the ascended celestial foxes in the heavenly court took their messages in a dash across the sky, behind the cold winter clouds.

1,000 years. Wei Ying could scarcely envision reaching that immortal age as his heavenly ancestors had. To join ranks with martial and civil gods alike, with countless tails and endless stories. It was even harder when he looked at his mother to imagine her being any older than Lan-Ayi.

But he knew that mother was close to one hundred and fifty years old. Her face was ageless and smooth, her eyes a bright mirror to his own, and her hair a bottomless stream of ink. When her eyes weren’t sad, her face often held a warm pride in him with each milestone he crossed.

While his shapeshifting still needed work, he could control spirit fire and manipulate items with his Qi. But what could you expect from a young fox such as himself? He was only seventeen years old– he was advanced for his age! Considering most only gained true control of their powers by the time they reached fifty years.

He needed to be advanced! For his Mama, Lan-Ayi, and his A-Zhan! He whined, restless and heated as his chin rested on his front paws. He needed to be strong for them– but here was his, punished for approaching an outsider!

” A-Ying,” the voice made his ears swerve backward to the doorway of the cottage, his tails instinctively wagging, slow and sweeping across the porch. They brushed over the front of the closed door, a door that was barring him from going in and lying across his A-Zhan’s lap!

Cruel! Cold-hearted mother and Ayi!

He whined, squirming and bolting to his feet to jump at the ledge of the open window next to the firmly closed door. The weak late-day sun glimmered and danced across Lan Zhan’s perfect face; his features were stern, but his eyes were warm with soft amusement as he took in his childhood friend's plight.

The pale cultivator braced himself on the window and brought his face closer to Wei Ying, his hair cascading over his shoulder as he allowed the fox to stretch his neck and bring their noses to touch.

” Wangji,” a feminine voice softly reprimanded him with a sigh. Footsteps sounded as Madam Lan made her way to the two teenagers. “ Wuxian needs to learn not to be so rash when it comes to meeting outsiders. And you’re letting the heat out with this foolishness,” she scolded, her beautiful face pinched as she huddled under her shawl. Clutching it for comfort.

It was a handsome, hand-crafted wool piece in white and blue, depicting a hand-stitched moon and snow cranes. Lan Wangji wrapped his arms around the grumbling fox, turning begging eyes toward his mother.

” Too cold,” he intoned, his voice deep and placid despite how firmly his mouth set into a pout. Wei Wuxian gave a dramatic shiver and sneezed at the cold, and when those unmoved, silver eyes fell on him, he whined and licked his teeth like a fretful kit.

” Ayi,” he whined out, his vocal cords scratchy with how long he had been separated from them (a few hours after Lan Qiren had come to scold him). “ They have no say on what this one can and can’t do! That girl was calling to me to grant a wish,” he argued his case, and really! Why should that old man have any say on any of this? Those hypocrites were the ones–

” Wei Wuxian,” his mother’s voice made him jump, his fur bristling as he looked over his shoulder at his divine mother. He dropped from the ledge, the window closing with a solid thwack! as he scampered to sit before his mother’s waiting form on the snow-covered path.

She looked tired, her expression pinched while her winter robes gathered around her.

” I told you to stay out of trouble, especially this year,” her tone was firm. Wei Ying shifted in discomfort, his fur bristling as his mother spoke what he had been avoiding.

It was the year when his A-Zhan would have to decide what he had to give in exchange for his mother’s life. Choose a fitting… object or trait for altering fate that the celestial woman before him had done.

Wei Ying couldn’t help the low, frustrated growl that stirred in his chest, his paws stretching forward as he moved in discomfort. Lan Wangji had until the end of the month to decide what was equivalent to a life.

”...” Wei Ying didn’t know what to say, his throat closing as his thoughts whirled together. He couldn’t help the helpless whine that stirred in his chest as he slumped to the ground in a depressed puddle of fur. He could feel his mother’s stare, heavy and lingering as it washed over him.

She sighed. And then two delicate yet strong hands picked him up and cradled him in arms clad in pure white.

Her footsteps crunched in the snow and then gently clacked on the wood as she made her way up the porch. Madam Lan opened the door, a knowing and resigned expression lining her fine features.

” Go,” Cangse Sanren murmured as she set Wei Wuxian to the warm ground. He didn’t need to be told twice, as he scampered off to A-Zhan’s room. But his tails were not high and confident, as they typically were when he ran off to see his best friend. They didn’t flick with energy; instead, they dragged across the bamboo floors.

When he came to the expanded side room, Lan Wangji was already waiting. His back was straight as he sat on his cushion, his gaze unblinking as he gazed down at the paper. Sandalwood incense permeated the air, the scent easing the restless whirring of Wei Wuxian’s brain.

Gold eyes flicked up at him as he nosed the door closed behind him. Wei Ying whined, deep and remorseful for the drama he had brought on them for his impulsive actions. Long white sleeves rustled, a well-known gesture that Wei Ying didn’t need to lift his head to gauge what the other teen was gesturing for.

He shook the snow from his small paws before he stepped up and onto Lan Zhan’s lap. Given how large he had grown and how bulky his tails had become, Wei Wuxian’s hind legs rested off Lan Wangji’s lap. His nose buried itself in the crook of the cultivator’s arm, his face looking off to the far wall while his ears remained pinned to his head.

Shivers wracked through him as upset chirring started in his chest. The sounds were high and squeaking, no matter how much he tried to swallow or muffle them. “ It’s OK, A-Ying,” those words made Wei Wuxian squeeze his eyes close.

” No, it’s not, A-Zhan!” Wei Wuxian whined, his words clipped and drawling with his canine sounds. If he were in his semi-human form, his words may have been understood easier but Wei Wuxian knew his cultivator understood him. And if he couldn’t, the frustrated chittering and the upset nibbling on his arm made the message clear.

A heavy hand brushed and dragged over his head, the heavenly touch lingering until the human stripped him bare by forcing the fox’s chin to look upward. Lan Wangji’s face was solemn, the most serious thing Wei Ying had ever seen in the past few years.

” A-Ying was trying to do good,” Lan Wangji stated, his gaze stubborn and his jaw set. Wei Wuxian tried to dip his head away from that gaze, but the cultivator held him firm. “ A-Ying is good,” he added, the air tense and heavy as the juvenile celestial fox was forced to examine his features.

An unhappy bark sounded from Wei Wuxian as he found what he had been looking for. Lan Zhan was succumbing to the obvious exchange! Within those deep amber, golden pools, Wei Wuxian found a tired acceptance. He wasn’t going to try and be crafty, Wei Wuxian sensed. His Zhiji was going to just give his life up, tit for tat!

Before Wei Wuxian could truly act out, Lan Wangji swept his arm under his hind legs and brought the fox up to his arms. “ Don’t argue. Please,” Lan Wangji whispered, his expression sad and desperate to Wei Ying’s gaze. Desperate for normalcy and peace.

While the celestial fox usually would have abided by that face, that firm boundary. Today, he drew the line on this.

” But I’ve had so many ideas since we last talked about it!” Wei Ying told him, his own desperation ringing clear in his voice, and how he tried to squirm to look at the other teen’s face. “ Like, what if you gave your father’s life instead? Have you even thought about your fer–” Lan Wangji blushed and shook his head.

” Shameless!” He declared, those gold eyes narrowed and flustered as he glared down at the fox. Sensing some leeway, Wei Ying continued to pester him, he shoved his wet, cold nose under Lan Wangji’s chin, and excitedly licked at his clothed shoulder.

” Come onnnnn! Be creative, Lan Zhan. You can’t maliciously trick a celestial fox,” he rubbed his head like a cat, pressing firmly against Lan Wangji to try and get him to break from his stern seriousness. “ It can be something other than just your life– if Mama thinks it’s on the same level, she’ll take it. And that idea has merit. Trust me!” He pulled back to shout, carefully jumping from Lan Wangji’s arms so as not to overwhelm more with his loud sounds.

He crouched and energetically wagged his tails in the air, much like he would as a kit. “ Lan Zhannn~” he yipped out, his tongue dangling from his mouth as he held it in a wide, hopeful grin. When those gold eyes continued to stare at him, ears a bright red, Wei Ying rolled on his back and hammed it up.

” Shameless,” Lan Wangji repeated, growling at the outstretched and open fox belly held out to him like an offering. His fingers twitched, the digits wrapping around the trailing end of his forehead ribbon as he sat back with a thoughtful expression.

Silence stretched as Lan Wangji considered his options, his face blank. But Wei Ying knew his attention was wavering as those eyes slowly drifted to his flexed toe beans and his curled form.

No one could resist the fox belly!

Predictably, a considering hum sounded as Lan Zhan gracefully dipped his head. “... Can try it,” he allowed, his blush spreading to lightly coat his forehead before he attempted to dispel it completely. Finally making some progress, Wei Ying bit back the loud squeal he wanted to let out, as well as the energetic bouncing. Instead, he remained as he was, temptingly stretched and slowly weaseling his way closer to the young man.

Begrudingly, long, thin digits touched and curled into his soft belly fur. They intimately scratched at his favored spots, and the other teen softly dragged Wei Wuxian closer to his knees. His head rested atop white thighs, his ears pleasantly flopped as he succumbed to the expert pets.

There was a reason why Wei Wuxian got jealous when his Lan Zhan focused his attention on the rabbits. And some of them were growing bold too! They deserved a good chase here and there to keep them from falling into complacency and spoiled behavior.

His back foot kicked and a low canine-like groan fell from him as he shifted for Lan Wangji to scratch at his back more. “ I want A-Zhan to live a long life… I want to stay by his side,” he whispered into the other boy’s clothed stomach, the thick sash a comforting wash of sandalwood and the oils they used when washing their clothes by hand.

That hand stopped, clenching into his soft fur before it smoothed into a relaxed hold.

” En,” he replied, and then went back to spoiling his fox friend.

-----

Annoyingly, the month passed by before Wei Wuxian knew it.

Instead of the days of distraction and a balanced peace in the years previous, Wei Wuxian had felt like they were stepping closer and closer to their execution. And of course, Lan Zhan was just accepting it. Leaving him to worry and fret over how they spent their time together.

And on the morning of January 23rd, Lan Wangji woke them both up with a rattling gasp. His hand moved to clutch at his chest, startling a lightly sleeping Wei Wuxian who was curled up near his side.

The young fox nuzzled the collar of the cultivator’s sleeping robe, whirring chirrs stirring in his chest while he huffed and scented Lan Wangji for his ailment. Before he could ask or Lan Wangji could explain what he was feeling, a light knock sounded from the door.

Jumping off the bed, Wei Wuxian nosed the door open while Lan Wangji caught his breath. Struck by an instinct he had never felt before, Wei Wuxian found himself jolting and growling at the sight of his own mother standing in the doorway. His lips and tails trembled as he went into a guarding position, the simmering spirit fire gathering in the air near him while he gave her a wide-eyed, scared look.

” At ease, A-Ying,” she murmured, her eyes eternally saddened and her hands carefully tucked into her sleeves while her own tails were lowered into a calm position. “ This one hasn’t come to collect her dues yet. However,” she paused, giving the still and pale teenager a stern look. “ If A-Zhan wishes to keep his cultivation, he must meet this one in the clearing at the Xin hour (noon) to fulfill the deal before his birth hour strikes,” she informed him.

And as soon as she appeared, she was once more gone. Wei Wuxian paced, letting out aggrieved squeals and cries of a distressed vixen that echoed through the house. His ears flicked at the light socked, footfalls from behind him. A hand cupped his ruffled fur and smoothed it down with a familiar gentleness.

Breakfast was a quiet affair as they ate with Madam Lan. Well, Lan Wangji ate while Wei Wuxian rested his chin on the cultivator’s knee. When the young man offered him a piece of tofu, a loud whine filled the dining room.

It had been years since Lan Wangji had snuck him bits of his food. An immature and affectionate gesture that had made them giggle and cast secretive gazes toward their mothers. And now, here they were, with only a wain and distressed Madam Lan sitting across them.

His tongue lapped the piece of tofu up, his eyes wetting as the boy gave his head a fond pet before he walked back toward his room for a moment to gather himself. Madam Lan gazed after him, her eyes wet and her lips lightly quivering.

With a sigh, she blinked and looked down to meet Wei Wuxian’s gaze. She elegantly knelt and stretched a hand out in a silent offer. Faced with his auntie’s visible sadness on her softened features, Wei Wuxian bumped his head to her delicate hand.

When Lan Wangji walked out of his room, he was bedecked in his official robes befitting his rank as the second heir of the sect. His robes were immaculate, and his wrist guards gleamed in the early morning sunlight. Wei Wuxian bounded up and pawed at Lan Wangji’s knee. Before he could be caught, he whirled and anxiously twirled around.

” We need to do something!” He yelped, a conspiratory note lingering in his voice as he looked between the two Lan members, his heart and his core burning with the desire to prevent this from happening.

Madam Lan’s mouth opened, her expression twinging, yet nothing came out. Lan Wangji knelt and welcomed Wei Wuxian into his embrace once more. “ Whatever comes out of this, A-Ying should lay it to rest… We have come to terms with what is needed,” he quietly urged, his voice subdued.

Gold eyes gazed deeply into the silver pools, the feline-like pupil as thin as a piece of rice paper. “ But–” A hand shushed him as it gently closed his mouth, the flesh warm as it wound around his thin jaw. Wei Wuxian glared at his calm expression.

And then his stomach clenched and his eyes darted away as the teen gave him a confident, slightly smug look. “ A-Ying needn’t worry,” Lan Wangji reassured him, his fingers scratching and carding through the fur under his chin and down to his neck and chest.

Grumbling, Wei Wuxian nodded. The cultivator gave him a fond nod and then stood up. He bowed before his mother, prim and perfect as he deeply saluted the pale and moved woman.

A smooth, dainty hand brushed his cheek, and then she guided him to straighten into his full height. He towered over her slight form, but Madam Lan was just overflowing with the gratitude and the sincere love she held for the child before her. Her selfless A-Zhan.

Her lips gently pressed to his forehead, a few inches below his headband, as she brought him to lightly squat. Lan Wangji gripped her arm as he pulled away, his ears lightly red and his face turned to hide the intensity of the emotions racing through him.

” I love you, my A-Zhan. Thank you for everything– for giving me the chance to see you and your brother grow up into men. To have this time on this plane with my true loves,” she whispered, her hands tightening for a moment, before she loosened them once more. Lan Wangji gazed down at her perfectly manicured hands as he sharply nodded, his baritone hum filling the room as he remained silent.

Madam Lan tucked a loose piece of hair behind his ear and stepped back, her face brave and her posture tight as she waved them off.

The walk to the clearing was silent, save for the crunch of the snow under their feet. Wei Wuxian brushed against Lan Wangji’s legs as they walked, his gaze flicking around while the tension grew and grew within his chest. He wanted to fight. He wanted to set the forest ablaze and make their escape.

But they couldn’t escape Fate.

Under the pale sunlight, the clearing was a wash of bone-white and cool blues. The Elder Lans were a crowd of mourning ghosts as they stood on the edges, their gazes stern and their faces blank. Yet their dark, beady eyes clearly held a deep curiosity for the scapegoat standing before them.

If propriety were to be set aside, they would be gossiping and spewing garbage about the Celestial Fox standing before them. Her back faced Lan Wangji and her own son. Yet she stood like a willow, her long cloak lightly billowing in the wind while her hair cut a sharp stream across her back.

Wei Wuxian bit back the growls and the snarls he wished to release, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the various men and women that made up the top hierarchy of the sect.

They were as old as dirt and their views as skewed as the uneven terrain stretching off of Gusu. How he wanted to bite off the mouths that spewed such hateful rhetoric and pushed for isolation and punishments. Use his spirit fires to scorch the fingers that had passed decrees that targeted the downtrodden and abused.

His tails anxiously wound around Lan Wangji’s legs as they stopped a few steps from Cangse Sanren. Despite their growth, she stood like a pillar, and her aura filled the clearing much like it did when they were children. Now, she wasn’t going to provide allowances and prevent missteps from occurring.

She held the airs of someone collecting their dues, her face smooth like a river rock as she turned to observe Lan Wangji’s face. Wei Wuxian remained firm by the cultivator’s side, something that didn’t surprise the woman.

Cangse Sanren snapped her sleeve out, the thick fabric catching the breeze as she regarded the cultivator before her. Gone was the guileless and innocent light from his eyes, yet they were filled with that same courage and determination. Values and strengths that outweighed the cumulative strength of those around them.

” Lan Zhan. Lan Wangji. Hanguang-Jun,” She listed, each title like the ringing of a bell as she lifted her chin to regard him. “ You have come before this Mistress to fulfill the deal we have struck eleven years ago,” she recognized, her question made into a statement.

He nodded, his expression stoic as he remained focused on her expression. He couldn’t allow the worried expression of his uncle and his brother to set him off course. For the lack of his father’s presence to scrape against that weak, sniffling inner child that lingered deep within his frame.

” Wangji has thought of what to provide in exchange for a life, as Mistress has demanded of this one,” he stated, waiting as she waited for his words to ring true. Her eyes lightly glowed with the gradual pulling of her powers, unnatural shadows dancing and swirling upon her pale, fine-featured face.

Satisfied with what she saw within the recesses of his soul, she tilted her chin and raised her brow. Permitting him to seal the deal and to gain his comeuppance for challenging the Universe.

Lan Wangji’s hand clenched and thudded against his chest as he knelt before her in obedience. Wei Wuxian made a light sound, his body flexing into a tense crouch as he kept himself from jumping in front of his cultivator. Light pants filled the clearing as he stared at his mother, forced still within the range of her thick, powerful aura.

With his other hand offered upward, his back was a sleek line of white and blue while his gold eyes bore into Cangse Sanren’s bright, inhuman gaze. She seemed to distort and warp around him, her body leaning downward while her clawed hands gripped his scarred hand.

Her teeth were slightly agape, as though to clamp down and tear the limb off. His pale skin was free of other blemishes, while her fang marks were a dark, ominous black with throbbing veins. Lan Wangji let a light shiver run through him as that sensation throbbed through him and tightened around his core once more.

He licked his lips and finally spoke, “ In exchange for the life of my mother, this one gives the Mistress his ability to create more life within this world. He gives the fertility of his loins and the possibility to produce heirs for the Gusu Lan sect.” Murmurs rippled through the gathered crowd.

Cangse Sanren’s eyebrows lightly moved upward, her lip softly flicking upward. But before she could give him a proud smile, a large dark shadow passed over her and stretched on the blank white clearing. It was a God, a heavenly official passing judgment on the exchange.

Breathes caught, and the winds rippled and tore leaves from the trees. And then a streak of lightning slashed through the sky and thunder angrily rumbled in response.

Wei Wuxian shook and quivered where he stood, his blood thoroughly frozen solid as a helpless wail tore through his throat. That loophole had failed.

Cangse Sanren sadly shook her head, her face once more professional and her gaze narrowed to the blank expression Lan Wangji held. “ My lady rejects this exchange, for Lan Wangji’s fate does not hold any biologically born children. Making his life nurturing Yang energy an unsuitable exchange,” she primly explained.

Lan Wangji’s gaze nervously flicked toward his uncle and his brother. Their faces were even more gaunt and unwell, the stress-induced illness making them quiver and cling to each other without a care for appearances.

Silence stretched in the clearing, tense and weighted with the eyes of a civil god passing their judgment on the proceedings. “...In exchange for my mother’s life, this one offers the secluded Qingheng-jun for what she has done in place of his parenting,” shocked and outraged cries sounded around the clearing.

Yet they were silenced with the smooth glide of Cangse Sanren’s gaze, their words similarly caught in their throats, much like their silencing spells. “ Begging pardon for speaking ill of others, but Madam Lan has done more with her continued existence than Qingheng-jun has done within the time since striking this deal,” Lan Wangji paused to catch his breath, his words spurned from the deepest depths of his soul as he made his case.

It felt as though a claw had hooked through him, bringing all of his inner thoughts and observations to light despite how much he squirmed and tried to silence himself. “ Where she has brought love and joy with each borrowed day, Qingheng-jun has continued his silent abuse. He misuses his authority and works in selfish ways that go against everything this sect stands for,” Lan Wangji gasped for breath.

Tears gathered and spilled over his thick eyelashes, his form wracked with tremors as he felt himself skinned raw from these words. These harsh and horrible truths that he tried to squirm away from. If he weren’t held in place by this oppressive, divine power, he would have crumbled and folded into the snow.

A hiccup stirred in his chest as Wei Wuxian’s tail weakly squeezed on the back of his calf. A considering hum brought his attention back to the Celestial Fox, her face neutral yet her gaze lowered.

Grey feathers rained above them as a flock of Northern Lapwings flew over the trees and then landed upon the clearing. They cooed loudly and jarringly in the silence, their sleek legs raised in an excited dance while one of the larger birds stepped forth with the message from their goddess.

Within the small beak, the bird held a small yet perfectly crafted pair of red wedding shoes. The embroidered heeled slipper showed signs of having been charred and torn, yet an expert had clearly painstakingly repaired the damage. Wei Wuxian tilted his head as his mother let out a small, pained gasp at the sight of the slippers.

As though holding a cup overflowing with water, her hands quivered as she wrapped them around the slippers and bowed to the messenger.

” My lady accepts this deal and the argument Lan Wangji has made for this altering of fate,” she told him, her voice clear and smooth despite the emotion that obviously warred under her face. Her own message of “ Do not let this happen again” sparked and danced within her stern lip and her pinning gaze.

His breath left him while he lightly frowned in conflict. Wei Wuxian squeezed tighter, all but crying out for the teen to follow his heart– it had spoken clearly, the words Lan Wangji would never say aloud!

”...Thanking her lordships grace,” he offered after a lull of silence, his hand outstretched with a faint tremor while he guiltily looked to the ground. A sharp pain lanced through his arm while her hand gently held his wrist.

And just like that, the overwhelming and heavy sense of dread left him. Like a puppet getting cut from its strings, Lan Wangji slumped and dropped to the ground. But before his face could touch the cold snow, Wei Wuxian was there to cushion his fall.

And like so many years leading up to this moment, that soft black fur absorbed his tears and muffled his soft whimpers.

Cangse Sanren shielded him with the span of her robes as she held the elders off from storming the clearing. Treason! They called, but their voices were like the babbling of a creek as they spoke above each other.

” That is enough!” Lan Qiren snapped, his face weary but his expression grim as he glared at these men and women. “ If you care so much for him, go and sit by his deathbed while the time allows it! This master has had enough of living under that man’s shadow!” Gasps fell from the elders as they blinked at the blatant, unfilial words and disdain that pulled over the man’s face.

” You heard me!” Lan Qiren shouted, his fists clenched and quivering at his sides as his gaze tore through every elder there. “ He has brought nothing but pain and suffering with his impropriety and abuse, as Wangji named it. It has long since been time for new leadership by those prepared to uphold justice,” his gaze meaningfully slid over to Lan Xichen.

Some of the outrage settled, an uneasy acceptance settling over the crowd of upper officials. Lan Xichen had been running the sect with Lan Qiren’s aid, with all but the official hand off of titles– that at least couldn’t be disputed.

The birds lingered as the drama died down, their gazes intrigued and the youngest daring as they stepped closer to Wei Wuxian.

Silver eyes looked up in disinterest at the approach of the divine. He could sense the invitation to step under Lady Ling Wen’s power, her rule over civil matters. Yet, he instinctively knew that their energies were too different, the light trail of her power ill-fitting to his budding divinity.

Wei Wuxian politely declined the invitation with a respectful dip of his head, his snout moving to curl and nuzzle into Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

Footsteps crunched and drew closer as voices faded away from the clearing. A tentative hand brushed through the fur on his head, the unfamiliar touch making him lightly growl and give the grandmaster a narrowed side-eye.

Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen knelt next to them, their waif-like figures relaxed and their gazes tired from years of anxiety and struggle. A glance told him that his mother had disappeared to stand guard at the cottage, likely in her towering, divine fox form to dissuade any elders from trying to take revenge.

“ I know we’ve had our disagreements in the past,” the old man tiredly began, his eyes shining while his expression drew awkward. He cleared his throat, “ But I want to thank you for standing by Wangji through all these years,” he gruffly admitted, Lan Xichen’s agreeing hum finally allowing Lan Wangji to tentatively look up at them.

Before Wei Wuxian could keep him from speaking or whisk his upset cultivator away, the teen cleared his throat and, shyly, tentatively looked between them. “...Uncle and Da-ge aren’t mad at Wangji?” He asked, his quiet yet palpable fear of upsetting them making Wei Wuxian curl tighter around him, his nose posessively digging into the teen’s collarbone.

A saddened look passed over Lan Qiren’s face before he blinked and strengthened himself. Lan Xichen frowned and then feverishly shook his head, drawing nearer to lay a gentle hand on Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

” Never. I would rather Lan Wangji live instead. No matter what argument they could make,” Lan Xichen declared, the person he was referring to going unnamed, yet his presence felt despite the careful side-stepping.

Lan Qiren gently nodded, his hand settling on the top of Lan Wangji’s hand. “ I wish–” his voice quivered and he swallowed, “ I only wish he never did the things he had done. And he hadn’t been protected,” he quietly admitted, but his gaze was clear of judgement.

Rapid crunching sounded from the path coming from Qingheng-Jun’s cottage on the opposite side of the mountain. The desperate breathfalls and blind crashing on trees and through brushes made the gathered Lans and Wei Wuxian stiffen.

Wei Wuxian squirmed from Lan Wangji’s hold, finally able to stand in a defensive posture before the pale and begraddled appearance of Qingheng-Jun. His face was wan and his gaze darting as he squinted and rapidly blinked to clear his burning eyes.

” W-Wangji,” he croaked in betrayal, the distant and concerned voices of the elders pulling behind him. Wei Wuxian barked and flicked his tails upward to hide the teen from the man’s disturbed gaze.

” Begone, you nasty man!” Wei Wuxian spurned him, his head throwing back as he growled and challenged his furrowed, apathetic gaze. “ Face your judgement and atone for what you’ve done,” he snarled, his maw open and his eyes bright with his power.

From the corners of his gaze, Wei Wuxian watched the birds turn in interest toward the man. They lifted from their resting position, their beady eyes hungry and their heads tilting.

Like chickens, they bobbed and moved like creeping predators as their long tails twitched and flicked into the air. Qingheng-Jun stiffened in fear, his expression horrid and his gaze wavering like the blank stare of a man facing death.

Without sparing another word, Qingheng-Jun spun on his bare heel and fled deep into the woods. The birds took after him, set in motion from where they had been waiting for the time to tick by to the moment Lan Wangji had been brought into this world.

Relaxing, Wei Wuxian felt his ears instinctively perk up as his senses caught something on the edges of the clearing. He turned his head to the sides, expecting the Lan elders to be creeping up on them with pitchforks in hand.

Instead, he caught sight of a tall figure enshrouded within the cool shade of the trees. A God! He knew this with every fiber of his being. A powerful God.

His figure was stock-still as he stared at that melted and warping form, reality itself shifting around and hiding the man from the cultivators around them. The jingling of bells and the scent of sickly sweet and cloying like spring filled his twitching nose. A pale hand curled and beckoned him closer, a white butterfly enticingly drifting on the breeze in slow motion.

A hand made him jolt, and he looked back at an inquisitive Lan Wangji. His eyes asked him if he was OK, and Wei Wuxian spared a glance back toward that waiting figure.

Briefly torn for a moment, Wei Wuxian internally shrugged and turned away from the man, ignoring him for the moment. Lan Wangji was more important to him than power. If the illustrious God could bear to wait a few more days, months, or years, Wei Wuxian would gladly seal the deal some other time.

His Zhiji was way more important at the time, he projected… Perhaps in a way that would have made his mother blush and swat at his head in equal parts embarrassment and reprimand.

A startled yelp tore through him as a heavy sensation pressed on his core in response. Yet, it didn’t hurt or make him seize in pain, as his mother had warned him of how Heavenly Officials could project their displeasure at rude behavior.

Instead, this was a pleasant warmth that spoke of deep approval of his thought process. A warm, deep laugh taunted his ears while a fond hand petted his head before the presence left him completely.

Wei Wuxian blinked in bewilderment as he looked back at the now-disappeared figure, ignoring the worried calls from Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen. It seemed like he had a patron God to pray to now!

-----

Later in spring, Lan Xichen met them for tea. A worried frown played over his steadily filling out face, a youthful glow settling over his sharp features as each month passed.

” Wangji, Muqin. A-Ying,” he gave the sprawled out celestial fox a fond smile, his eyes crinkling as he watched the way Wei Wuxian greedily snuggled and flopped his tails over Lan Wangji’s properly seated form.

Wei Wuxian gave a distracted snuffle, his attention pinned on the butterfly calmly sitting on his nose. He raised a brow at it. He knew it indicated his God’s interest, and his God was very interested in him with how much they lingered around him.

But he didn’t know much about the butterfly, and his and Lan Wangji’s research on who his God was had been rather…distracted over the past few months.

It tickled his face as he gently raised a paw to touch its wing. It moved to rest on the table, forcing Wei Wuxian to sit up and rest his chin on the table. His ears flicked as he tuned in on what the others were discussing.

” A-Huan, we are not sending either of you to that camp,” Madam Lan ordered with a disinterested sniff. Lan Xichen nodded, his face pulled into an uncomfortable look at being faced with such a stern, decisive expression of a protective mother.

Wei Wuxian perked up as the butterfly disappeared, the rustling of fabric indicating that his mother had entered the tea room of the Hanshi. “ What’s got you raising your voice like that, Tingyue-er?” Cangse Sanren asked, her lips quirked into a softly amused look.

Madam Lan rubbed the headache from her brow, the displeased expression lightening as she calmed herself. “ The Wen have sent this decree to steal our disciples and our heirs from right under our noses under the pretense of ‘Summer Lessons’,” she told the celestial fox, her arms crossing as she glared at the paper that had been delivered at the gate.

The young men looked between the two women as they debated the issue, Lan Xichen’s hands calmly poised in his lap as he took a considering expression. “ This Xichen can write Chifeng-zun for his opinion,” he offered, the knowing look Madam Lan and Wei Wuxian gave him making the tips of his ears blush.

” You do that, Huan-ge,” Wei Wuxian yawned, his snout pulling into a mischievous grin as he rested his head on the table. Cangse Sanren tutted, her gaze stern as he met those dark eyes.

” A-Ying should be–”

”-- Practicing his shapeshifting! Yes, Mama A-Ying knows,” Wei Wuxian finished the soft scolding, his canine whine played up as he pouted at the woman. He liked this form a lot, his tails softly wagged as Lan Wangji was softly stroking his hands through them.

Cangse Sanren chuckled and rolled her eyes, taking an easy sip from the reprouchful cup of tea that Lan Wangji poured for her as a quiet bribe. “ It is up to A-Ying if he decides to further his cultivation sooner, rather than later,” she sagely murmured, her eyes taking that faraway look.

The quiet sounds of calm breaths and Lan Xichen drafting his letter to Nie Mingjue filled the tea room while the crisp, sandalwood incense burned. “ Fineeee,” Wei Wuxian whined out, begrudgingly shaking out his tails and transforming into his humanoid shape for the first time in a long while.

Sue him! He’d taken a little break from his spiritual training to run and play with Lan Wangji when they had the chance for such fun. It was almost completely jarring, the sudden 180 of re-entering the sect and re-establishing Lan Wangji and Madam Lan.

As well as formally introducing Wei Wuxian and his mother to the starry-eyed and nervous disciples. Lan Wangji had nearly been driven to a panic attack, the first time he had been surrounded by his sect members of his age. And Wei Wuxian had been glad to act as a guard fox from those who saw his friend as a chance to cozy up to the main Lan family.

He brushed off his robes and straightened himself out, his clawed hand easily settling on top of Lan Wangji’s empty and lightly clenching digits. His large black ears flicked toward the gentle, muffled chuckles and giggles, but he didn’t care as he turned to look up at the other young man’s blank face.

Wei Wuxian nodded in shared distraught, “ I know A-Zhan, it is truly cruel for Muqin to force me to shapeshift,” he verbalized the thoughts he read on the man’s stoic features. If he added a dramatic and lightly aggrieved tone, that was just because he could read his Zhiji’s heart!

Lan Wangji calmly nodded,“ Mn,” he hummed in agreement, moving to pour Wei Wuxian’s tea with one hand.

Wei Wuxian squabbled to serve himself, his clawed fingers tapping on the ceramic pot as he shook his head. “ No, no, Lan-er-gege! This A-Ying is the youngest here; he should pour his own tea,” he shamelessly grinned, sharp-toothed and teasing.

Lan Wangji gave him an aggrieved look that spoke of being heavily bullied by the Celestial Fox (a slight narrowing of his eyes and a tweak of his brow). Wei Wuxian pushed him a bit more, holding the tea cup away from the cultivator as he yammered on and simpered some more.

” En,” Lan Wangji finally gave up on spoiling the fox, sitting on his hands and testily closing his eyes and pretending to meditate. Madam Lan let out a bright laugh from behind her manicured hand, her eyes crinkling and lightly wet as she happily gazed at her son and her ‘nephew’.

Cangse Sanren was loosely grinning, her countless tails curled behind Lan Xichen and Madam Lan in clear happiness and comfort in the setting. She cupped her chin and indulgently gazed upon her son, “ Ah, how A-Ying reminds this Mistress of her youth,” she happily chuffed, her words bellying a contented squeakiness to it that reflected her early foxhood.

” A pain is what this one is reminded of by such sights,” Lan Qiren gruffly interrupted the scene, his steps hurried as he walked over the threshold. His own waif-like form has filled out into the nice, soft plumpness that befitted his older, grandmasterly figure. His gaze was downward into his lesson plans, his energy distracted as he walked through the tea room to the official desk of the Hanshi.

” Aiyoo! Uncle didn’t even look upon this one before he cast his judgment! Do not speak ill of traits one can not control!” Wei Wuxian argued, lifting his finger to waggle in disapproval at the hypocritical nature the man was treating him with.

Lan Qiren furrowed his brows and paused, shifting his bundle to waggle his finger back at the young Celestial Fox. “ Wuxian can surely control his pranks and his plots against his fellow Shidimei. Much like a certain Mistress this one is familiar with,” he lightly scolded, his irked gaze moving toward a calm and unbothered Cangse Sanren.

” Qiren wasn’t complaining as much when he got the attention he sought after this one rid him of that black mark upon his chin,” Cangse Sanren cooly replied, her lip quirking into a smug smirk as the man flushed and sputtered at the tease.

” Erk! Leave such things in the past,” he quickly fled the room as quickly as he had appeared, speed walking as though the woman had released hounds after him.

Wei Wuxian let out a loud laugh, his hand slapping on his thigh as he took joy in the man’s flustered expression and hasty escape. “ What was that about?” He asked his mother, but she merely shared a knowing look with Madam Lan and snickered into her tea.

” A-Ying needn’t concern himself with old gossip,” Cangse Sanren murmured, her face once more becoming serene and untouchable as Wei Wuxian began to bark and whine his displeasure at such a thing being withheld.

” But this mother speaks truth,” her stern eye had Wei Wuxian pausing in where he was riling up a faintly blushing Lan Xichen and a mildly interested Lan Wangji with his prattle.

“ A-Ying best continue strengthening his skills. This mother has seen signs of something big on the horizon,” she warned, her voice bringing a shiver to race through everyone sitting around the table.

Straightening up from where he had draped himself over Lan Wangji’s lap, he gave his mother a serious nod. “ This one will stand strong by Muqin’s side, when such things come blowing in,” he promised, his gaze fervent as he looked into his mother’s deep gaze.

Lifting her hot tea cup, Cangse Sanren gave him a pleased nod and calmly sipped from her tea.

----

Trouble came, quickly and fast like the summer rains that fell upon the southern parts of the Jianghu.

And like a rash, it had festered and left Wei Wuxian itchy and constantly prickling over as he waited for it to finally descend upon them. If his mother had sensed it way back then, he had sensed it in the beginning of the summer season.

So, he had trained and trained. He routinely meditated with the spiritual guide of his patron God– who still preferred to remain nameless and hidden from his sight. When he had asked his mother how she connected with her God, Cangse Sanren had given him general information as she brushed out his coat.

” Ah, I know my A-Ying must be anxious to meet his God,” she tutted, a warm smile lining her lips as she fondly kissed the tip of his wet nose. “ But if a God wishes to retain an air of mystery, they will remain cloaked for plenty of years ahead of you,” she chuckled as Wei Wuxian let out a subconscious groan and an annoying chitter.

” Years? At least Mama doesn’t mean decades, right?” He asked, his eyes wide and hopeful. She tipped her head back and laughed, deep-bellied at his upset ear fold and twisting tails.

Her laughs tittering into high giggles, and then she calmed and continued brushing him. “ Once both parties are ready, A-Ying can expect his God to speak to him in dreams or via indirect means first. Such as a spiritual beast or other creatures,” Wei Wuxian perked up at this.

But before he could tip his mother off to the butterflies, he wavered and hummed in thought. His God often hid his butterflies when his mother approached. Surely they were too shy to be subjected to his mother’s judgment.

Cangse Sanren raised her brow yet didn’t push the loud gasp; every fox was entitled to their secrets.

” Sometimes, if a fox is lucky and favored, their God may appear in an unprompted manifestation to prevent certain woes from taking place or provide guidance through their animal companions' help,” her voice was hushed, her hand slowed as she gazed into the distance.

Wei Wuxian was quiet as he allowed his mother to stroke his back, comforting the ache that rested within both of them. A heavy sigh left her, and then a darker smile lined her lips as she narrowed her gaze to her son.

” And when the perpetrators don’t heed these divine warnings, trust your patron God to bring pain upon those who have wronged you,” she whispered, her eyes filled with that dark spitefulness that rarely twinkled when she thought of the past.

Wei Wuxian nodded, nuzzled into her hand with an approving huff. “ That sounds like a perfect deal,” he murmured in agreement, and then both of them rested until they parted for the night.

The seventeen-year-old didn’t care to think of where his mother went at night, especially since he was way too busy sneaking off to the Jingshi. Because while much had changed with the death of Qingheng-Jun, pesky things such as the curfew and a few thousand other rules were still firmly in place.

But Wei Wuxian was a master at skirting the rules!

With a confident gait, he sashayed to his Zhiji’s secluded house. A light glimmer caught his attention, his figure hidden in shadow as a patrolling disciple walked near him. Channeling some of his qi, Wei Wuxian blanketed the area so he could speak to the butterfly as he usually did.

” Hi, my Lord!” He energetically beamed at the butterfly, his tongue flopping out of his mouth as he grinned at the little thing. It fluttered and landed on his nose in what Wei Wuxian had come to call a form of greeting. “ Is there anything this A-Ying can do for you?” He stretched with nervous energy, his tails flicking and waving in the air before he started lightly bouncing in place to displace the energy.

It merely fluttered there, observing him dance and squirm around. When nothing happened, Wei Wuxian sat up and hummed, “ Well~, OK! This A-Ying was just going to sleep with his A-Zhan– Not like that,” he lowly growled as the butterfly fluttered faster and tickled his face.

He always took that to be a teasing gesture, like when Lan Wangji would give his ear a soft tug when he was deep into a rambling session. Especially since the butterfly always did that when he spoke of Lan Wangji. “ Things are pure between me and my Zhiji!” He boasted, the thick skin of his face heating as he defended their relationship.

The butterfly’s antenna twitched at him, but Wei Wuxian ignored it. He and Lan Zhan may be Zhiji, but Mama and Madam Lan had always told them that they needn’t be concerned about fulfilling certain roles. They could continue as they were– as best friends!

His trot picked up speed as he grew closer to the Jingshi, his tails waving as he silently skipped down the backway paths and popped on the other side of the fence. Which he expertly found his little burrow and squirmed his way through. The butterfly followed him over the shrub wall and drifted as he chatted his way through the small courtyard.

His claws clicked on the porch, and he smiled at the sight of the soft lamp light coming through the bedroom window. It was muggy, so all he had to do was prance up to the back door and give it a few kicks with his back paw to get his cultivator's attention.

Footsteps thumped on the other side, and then the sliding door clicked open with a quiet swish. Lan Wangji stood there, the sight of his forehead-bandless head and the towel draped over his silk-covered arm making Wei Wuxian perk up.

” Ah, does A-Zhan have the bath drawn already?” He asked, happily brushing his tails past the cultivator. His tails were high in the air as he clanked into the room, but when Lan Zhan remained at the door, he turned and went to see what was holding him up.

”---ang-lao, thank you,” he caught the tail-end of Lan Wangji’s one-sided conversation with the butterfly. And then the butterfly was gone!

” Uh, what was that about?” Wei Wuxian asked with a curious head-tilt. Lan Wangji grew flustered under the lamp light, the towel clutched to his chest like a safety blanket as he turned to look down at Wei Wuxian. One of his fists then moved to hide behind his back, totally noticeable and suspicious!

”...Nothing,” he replied, shifty and sneaky in a way that Wei Wuxian hadn’t seen since they were little kids.

” Aiyah, A-Zhan knows he can’t lie to save his life,” Wei Wuxian scolded him, a playful spark lighting his eyes as he wondered what his A-Zhan could be hiding from him. Even more curious– what he was conspiring with his mysterious patron God about!

Lan Zhan remained tight-lipped for the rest of the night, no matter how much Wei Wuxian poked and teased.

And come morning, their meditation session was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a Wen entourage demanding the turn-over of their rumored last heir, the mysterious and fate-defying Lan Wangji, and the junior Lan disciples.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian found their way through the crowd of disciples gathered at the entrance. And the air was tense enough that Wei Wuxian’s fur was ruffled and his tails accidentally whipped those who stepped in their way.

Unable to see what was going on, Wei Wuxian shifted into his humanoid shape as they got closer to where Lan Xichen and Madam Lan stood. An imposing man in white robes with red flames was staring at them with an intense gaze, his dark eyes boring into Madam Lan’s stoic space with an undisguised interest.

The crowd parted as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji popped up at Lan Xichen’s side. And then those dark eyes flicked over to take in Wei Wuxian’s half-fox, half-human form and Lan Wangji's graceful countenance, a hand resting on Bichen’s sleek hilt.

” Ah, here is what this one has been waiting for,” his gaze lingered and pinned itself to Wei Wuxian’s tall form with even more interest. “ This Wen Xu has heard tale of the esteemed Master Fox that has made themself home to the Cloud Recesses,” his voice was loud and blunt.

” Father wishes for you to move to Qishan Wen. We have plenty of gold and many favors to give in return for Master Fox’s favor,” he calmly negotiated, as though Wei Wuxian’s favor could be swayed or curried by mere chatter.

He swallowed an offended chitter, his tails less subtle as they flicked in agitation. “ This Master has no such desire to move from this mountain. That can’t be all that Wen-Gongzi has come to ask for?” He semi-politely dismissed the man, his gaze moving to the strained smile lining Lan Xichen’s face.

Wen Xu shifted before Lan Xichen could continue firmly declining the man’s outrageous decrees and requests. “ No. That was all.” The man’s voice was a loud, jarring boom as he placed a hand on his hip, his head shaking in disapproval. “ Let us see how well you and your ilk enjoy living upon a mountain of ash. Perhaps something shall be rebirthed from the flames,” he cruelly sneered, a sharp command leaving his lips.

Before they knew it, a thousand flaming stars struck the skies as the Wen archers hidden within the depths of the woods struck. A few hit the barrier, but the smoke began to rise in areas where the Wen had somehow snuck through the barrier.

Panicked shouts sounded as Wen Xu unsheathed his sword and came at Lan Xichen, his gaze sharp. “ Get the fox and take him alive with minimal wounds!” He barked out, his small entourage that had joined him swiftly lunging into the crowd of Lan cultivators.

Wei Wuxian jumped back, alarmed as things quickly went to shit. “ What the–” he jumped back, Lan Wangji fiercely stepping forth and parrying a shift-footed cultivator wielding a sabre. They were swarmed by a few other cultivators with a variety of weapons, one carrying a chain and a hook, and many carrying longswords.

His ears flicked as he caught the sound of something whistling through the air, his back instinctively swerving back as he twisted away from grabbing hands. When his eyes followed the projectile, he caught sight of some sort of dart piercing the back of a Wen foot soldier.

” A-Ying, run!” Lan Wangji shouted, his forms perfect and sweeping as he defended with a desperate intensity. Wei Wuxian lowly growled, his movements agile and quick as he swerved and flipped around the arms and legs aimed for him.

Balls of spirit flames flung themselves to the men and women, the flames harmless to Lan cultivators yet quickly spreading between the Wen intruders. His attention was pulled in what felt like a thousand little places as he bit and tore, manipulated and burned.

” I’m not leaving you–!” He yelped as Wen Xu snatched at him, that muscled arm rippling with the force while his fingers dug into Wei Wuxian’s waist. His eyes desperately flicked around, but Lan Xichen must have escorted Madam Lan away from the man, caught by whatever distractions the man had spewed to his face.

With a performative poof, Wei Wuxian shifted into his fox form and popped out of the man’s hold, his tails curling close as he darted through the crowd. Effectively pulling some of the Wen soldiers to chase after him.

Bichen soared straight at Wen Xu while Wei Wuxian weaved and jumped over the diving Wen cultivators. He darted past aflame guest halls, his chest heaving as he ran to call for aid from his mother. If she was meditating at her shrine or called away for Heavenly matters, she needed to be informed!

He was too young– too ill-prepared for this!

But A-Zhan! Wei Wuxian skirted back in conflict, tripping up the cultivator’s dogging on his path. Some had avoided his spirit fire; others were unlucky as the unextinguishable flames ate at their faces and bodies. Making some of the endless numbers drop as he passed groups of ransackers.

Wei Wuxian allowed vixen screams to fall from his lips as he rounded back to the entrance, his eyes wide as he took in the complete betrayal! That’s what this had to be– a rat amidst their numbers.

He slid between a pair of legs and jumped over shoulders, his claws digging and pushing off of faces as he ran back to Lan Wangji. He couldn’t allow his Zhiji to face that alone!

Blood pooled in his mouth as he sprinted, his legs burning, and his chest quivering with how hard he was breathing in impure smoke. As he rounded the back of the small clearing, Wei Wuxian grimaced at the Lan cultivators draping the ground, the few Wen cultivators overshadowed by the sheer loss.

A loud cry left his lips as he found Wen Xu and his close men holding Lan Wangji to the ground. A line of blood dribbled down his pale chin, and Wei Wuxian saw red as one of the men hefted a large sledgehammer to his shoulder.

It was clear that they were going to crippled him, as punishment for allowing Wei Wuxian to get away. And then they were going to do whatever else they wished to him.

His core burned as he felt his first true wish shimmer and press upon his heart. The first deal he had ever made, and it was all going wrong! He had sworn to his A-Zhan that he would protect their home and their people, just like his Mama!

Tears pricked and fell without abandon as he jumped onto the man with the hammer and clawed his eyes out, his teeth tearing off his nose. His fire stretched into a wave, covering Lan Wangji and hurting those bringing harm to the Lan cultivators.

A heavy hand scruffed him and brought him face-down to the ground, ruthlessly tearing him from the Wen cultivator’s face. The savageness of the force and pressure snapped something in his spine and made him scream in pain.

” M-my Lord! Mamaaa!” He cried out, the creation of more spirit flame sputtering in the air as he was overcome with the pain. His limbs felt numb and paralyzed while vomit and blood made their way up his throat.

Wen Xu let out a cruel laugh, his grip tight and unshakeable even if Wei Wuxian wasn’t so critically injured. “ Ahaha, apologies, Master Fox. This one didn’t know that one such as yourself was so weak,” the man leered with disdain, his hand meanly jostling the whimpering and crying teen.

Wei Wuxian’s sobs deepened as his vision wavered and blurred with tears. He was so scared! He’d never done more than simple sparring with Lan Zhan and Mama before this. This was too much– way too much for a little fox like himself.

Wen Xu continued to cruelly laugh, until he didn’t anymore.

A blurry form fell in front of his face, and then the pressure slid off of him. “ Mama?” He weakly called out, blind as he was with his distorted vision. And suddenly, he felt an icy healing sensation curl through him. His ears wildly flicked while his neck and shoulder muscles remained unresponsive.

A relieved yip left him as he heard a jingling sound fill the clearing, that sweet cloying smell caressing his nose. Swords clattered on the ground, and a frightened silence permeated the field, “ C-Crimson Rain Sought Flower,” a nearby voice quivered.

Urine scented the air, strong to Wei Wuxian’s senses. Crimson Rain Sought Flower, Wei Wuxian blearily thought of that title… Didn’t ring a bell for one of the Gods his mother hypothesized he would draw to his energy and personality.

His tails weakly wagged as those booted footsteps fell closer to him, the screams and sounds of limbs being torn off distant and faded as though his ears were clogged.

A pair of fancy boots stopped right in front of him, the man’s face shadowed by how he towered over Wei Wuxian and blocked out the sun. And then he squatted and tilted his head down at the fox that prayed to him.

” You’re a weak little fire-cracker, huh?” The man teased as a greeting, his grin sharp as his one eye looked over Wei Wuxian’s downed form. “ You talk a big game, but here you are. Downed in your first fight, Xiao Fox,” he sighed and tutted, his eye crinkling with a snicker as Wei Wuxian stirred in weak anger.

” I tried my best! A-as long as Lan Zhan– e-everyone is OK and the rest of the mountain isn’t burned down,” he slurred in a drawn-out whine, his head lifting to try and gaze around the insanely tall God to look at his Zhiji. Which– what was this guy, a giant?!

” This one is known as a Supreme Ghost King and one of the Four Great Calamities, if you sects still have history lessons,” he murmured in amusement, his gaze amused as he gently picked up the healing fox and turned him to see the battlefield.

Thousands of butterflies covered the Wen cultivators and flew into the woods throughout the mountain, picking them off. A decent amount also covered Wei Wuxian, which made him let out an awed gasp. “ Lord Crimson Rain Sought Flower is even more mighty than this one thought him to be!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, excited as his eyes flicked about the scene.

Wei Wuxian excitedly whimpered as he caught sight of Lan Wangji fighting side by side with a white-clad figure off toward the very entrance of the gate, where an army was making its way up. The Calamity hummed, pleased as Wei Wuxian bestowed many charitable thoughts and deserved awe for the mysterious figure.

Within a few more minutes, Wei Wuxian could feel his paws and the rest of his body, so he squirmed a bit in an unspoken request to be set down. “ Please, my Lord,” he squirmed a bit more, his tails windmilling as Lan Wangji and the unnamed cultivator walked toward them.

” Ahh, I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us. Or them,” the man murmured, worry flashing over his face at his interruption of the event and the bad luck it could bring. But his features softened in soft adoration as he watched Wei Wuxian meet his Zhiji halfway to jump up into Lan Wangji’s dirt and blood-covered arms.

The Celestial Fox excitedly licked the dirt and sweat from the young man’s face while Bichen was dropped to the ground.

” This one couldn’t just let Gege sit back and watch with such a sad look on his face,” the ghost lord practically purred, his arms crossing in front of him while he gave the blushing man a fond smile.

Wei Wuxian tore back over to them, bounding over bodies and crumbled formations alike, happily squealing as he clutched his Zhiji’s forehead band in his mouth. “ Thanking Lord Crimson Rain Sought Flower and his partner,” he bowed before them, a silent Lan Wangji joining in the next second, deeply bowing as well.

A pressure sparked, and Wei Wuxian looked to the side to see his mother appear and quickly make her way over to them. She appeared flustered and vaguely surprised before she quickly controlled her expressions, “ Scrap Immortal Flower-Crowned Martial God, Crimson Rain Sought Flower. Deeply thanking the Lords for rendering their aid,” she greeted her voice carrying a note of breathlessness as she too bowed before them.

Crimson Rain Sought Flower let out a carefree laugh, “ What else was this one to do? Neglect his first little Celestial Fox beneficiary after he has been so loyal?” The man smirked as Cangse Sanren’s face spasmed.

Xie Lian tutted at the man for his provocative tone, “ San Lang,” he lowly called, raising a brow while Wei Wuxian looked between the three of them in confusion.

” Mama knows this one’s God?” He asked, his voice muffled and confused, and when she caught sight of Lan Wangji’s bare forehead and the loose yet meaningful length tied around her son, she could only give a tired and long sigh.

” Indeed,” Cangse Sanren spoke neutrally, her head respectfully dipping under the two divine beings’ gazes. “ They are much acclaimed within the heavens. A-Ying is blessed to have gained such blessings and attention,” she held her tongue of the true ‘acclaim’ Hua Cheng had garnered for himself, but her tone held true respect.

Wei Wuxian wagged his tails at this, lightly unclamping the headband piece from his mouth so he could beam up at them. The lightly glittering cloud dropped to rest on his chest like a necklace, and he pressed his head to the tops of his paws and allowed his tails to fan out in a proper bow of divine servitude.

” This A-Ying is eternally grateful for such favor!” He yipped out, his tails quivering with energy unlike the smooth control Cangse Sanren held herself with, “ So please! Join my Zhiji and this A-Ying for our wedding day as guests of honor. Let us show our gratitude for your intervention today!” He grinned up at them, pleased and bright.

Faced with such joy, Xie Lian could only clap his hands in delight and turn to give Hua Cheng a pleased look. With a glance over his slightly startled features, Xie Lian laughed and quickly agreed.

” Of course! Of course!” His pleasant laughter spread through the clearing, drawing the hesitant approach of the weary Lan cultivators who were only minorly injured by the short-lived ambush. “ Wuxian must have much to experience and look forward to, on his journey to divinity,” he exclaimed, and Wei Wuxian barked and twirled in agreement.

And thus, the Lan cultivators remained untouched by the obsessed attention of the tyrannical Wen Ruohan and his forces of the dead and living. The Nie held strong as their closest allies, while the Jiang, Jin, and smaller sects scrabbled to hastily form a coalition against this power.

Yet soon, this ferosome self-claimed emperor found himself beginning to fall into an illness that had his closest men and family hurriedly cutting ties with him. Whispers of physicians and court maids whispered of unexplainable, scorching fire marks etching themselves to his skin and flesh-eating maladies plaguing his being.

All while white butterflies danced and melted within the shadows, and ghostly squeals rang through the halls, bright eyes burning with retribution.

For immortal cultivators were once more reminded of the blessings that come from gaining the loyalty of Celestial Foxes and the Heavenly Court that presided over them. And were justly reminded of what happened when humans grew ignorant and thought themselves masters over the Realm of the Dead.