After her Lan Huan is taken from her, Madam Lan shortly falls pregnant for a second time. She knows that once she births the babe, it too will be taken from her. Madam Lan could not bear another separation. Losing this child to the Lan clan would kill her. She won't allow it to come to pass.
She spends the months of her pregnancy in study, reading through ancient tomes the servants bring her. Piece by piece, a plan comes together in her mind. By the time she reaches the late stages of her pregnancy, she's assured she will never be separated from another of her children ever again.
When the pain begins and her water breaks, she alerts no one. Her little Lan Zhan is born after a grueling 12 hour labour, healthy and very loud.ย She looks at him and loves him instantly. His perfect face is scrunched up, red from his sobbing, his small body squirming in her gentle grasp.
Madam Lan holds him close, pressing kisses to his plump cheeks. As she pulls away, her only regret is that she doesn't have the time to gaze upon him longer - not if she wishes to keep him.
Placing the crying child down on the bed, she brings a knife out from beneath her pillow. She raises it high in the air, its wicked blade glinting in the moonlight, then plunges down sharply.
Silver blade meets with tender flesh, staining it the red of blood. A crimson tear drips down onto the white sheets under them, and her child's cries cut off, forcefully silenced.
Madam Lan smiles down madly at the evidence of what she's done. She cackles, holding her child's silent body close to her breast, gleeful with the knowledge he'll never be stolen from her. That he'll be hers and hers alone forevermore.
----
The next morning, Lan Qiren comes to see her, having been notified by the night guard that they'd heard cries coming from her cottage in the early hours. He scolds the disciple for not alerting him earlier and rushes to check on his sister-in-law, concerned for her well being.
To his shock, when he's let into her home he finds Madam Lan sitting serenely, cradling a rabbit kit in her arms. The kit is barely as big as the palm of her hand, made to seem even smaller by the swaddling blanket wrapped around it, warding off the morning's chill.
The creature seems oddly at ease with being held by a human, its little eyes closed tightly, breathing even as the woman runs a slender finger through the fur of its cheek. Lan Qiren wonders, briefly, where on earth she found such a beast, and whyย it's now inside her home.
"He was out in rain, injured," she tells him, as if predicting his thoughts. "I'm going to keep him."
Lan Qiren huffs. He doesn't appreciate this breaking of the rules, but has no right to question her - she is both his elder brother's wife, and the lady of the clan's head. Even if she disobeys the principles clearly laid out before her, it isn't his place to enact punishment. All he can do is frown and let it be.
He is aware it must be lonely, trapped up within this house turned prison. He would not deny the lady a companion, though he's loathe to admit it for fear of appearing tenderhearted.
In actuality, Lan Qiren was against his sister-in-law being imprisoned within the Cloud Recesses. He doesn't enjoy seeing her sequestered away alone, withering more with each day that passes. The act of violence that had her shut away was clearly one of defence. That man attacked her first.
But the Su family had demanded her life in return for the death of their patriarch, slain by her hands. There wasn't ever much of a choice to be made. She had murdered a man within clan lands. She was lucky not to be dead.
Lan Qiren elects to ignore the rabbit, sighing.
"The crying?" he asks.
His sister-in-law cocks her head. "Crying?"
"Last night, it sounded as if a babe was screaming. I thought, perhapsโฆ"
He gestures to Madam Lan's stomach gruffly. In return, she lifts a brow.
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand."
Lan Qiren scowls. "I had though that perhaps your child had been born."
Madam Lan looks at him as if he's grown a second head. "What child?"
Shocked by her audacity, Lan Qiren splutters. "What child? The one you carry!"
To his immense ire, Madam Lan throws her head back and laughs. "Qiren, I can assure you, I am most certainly not pregnant. Whatever gave you that idea?"
His anger spikes at her denial.
"What are you playing at?" he demands, enraged. "Everyone on this mountain knows you're expecting."
Her lips twist into a smirk. "Then, they must be mistaken."
The rabbit cupped in Madam Lan's palm chooses this moment to yawn, drawing attention to itself.
Lan Qiren's eyes hone in on it, then flicker down to the curve of her stomach, substantially smaller than it had been the time he'd seen her last. For the first time, he notices a brown stain along the cuff of her sleeve. His stomach sinks with dread as he realises it looks disturbingly like blood. LQR's mind alights upon a terrible possibility.ย
"Sister-in-law," he says lowly, his voice shaking, "what on earth have you done to your child?"
Madam Lan smiles, a sharp, cruel thing.
"My child?" she asks, bringing the rabbit closer to her breast as she strokes along its pale back. "I haven't even seen the child I last carried, so why should I birth another for you?" She kisses the kit upon its brow, and it fusses in her hands, newly awoken. "I think I much prefer this little bunbun, to be honest."
At her words, Lan Qiren's blood runs cold. Madam Lan sits there, stroking her new pet as if she hasn't just admitted to destroying yet another life. As if she isn't every inch the monster she's touted to be.
She raises her head to gaze at him, her lips forming into a sweet, sickening smile. "Is there a problem with that? I don't think I like churning out heirs for you people to steal away from me. I refuse to do it any longer."
Lan Qiren doesn't recall leaving his sister-in-law's home that day, too sick with the knowledge that his brother's wife has at last gone mad from confinement - or grown confident enough to show her true colours before him. Either way, it's no longer prudent for her to be left to her own devices. A decision must be made.
Later, when he's recovered enough from the earth-shattering revelation of his nephew's death to return, he asks where she put the child's body after she took its life.
When she refuses to answer, only flashing that callous, pleased smile of hers, he goes to petition his brother on the babe's behalf. QHJ's face pales when he hears of his wife's disturbing actions.
By nightfall, her rights are further restricted, keeping her strictly bound to her residence. No one shall see Madam Lan ever again, not even the servants. From now on, she shall be held inside the home provided her, expected to see to her survival on her own. Fresh ingredients and water will be provided for her weekly in their natural forms, with it being up to her to make the best of them.
She will no longer have access to the Lan library, nor any of the other facilities within CR, such a the music storage room she borrowed her xiao from - an item which must now be returned.
Lastly, she will no longer be allowed contact with her husband. After this incident, he no longer feels capable of helping her. Few realise its his fear of having caused this - of having made her kill their child - that keeps him away.
To Lan Qiren's disgust, she remains alive - unlike his brother's child, an innocent soul unable to even be granted revenge by their indulgent father.
----ย
After her brother-in-law leaves the cottage, Madam Lan begins to hum, singing a soft lullaby as she rocks her dear baby Lan Zhan back to sleep. In his mother's arms, the rabbit kit's eyes slowly flicker shut.
He slumbers soundly, unaware of what's been done to him; uncaring of the great boon that has been granted him - a childhood free from expectation, surrounded always with the love of his mother.ย
----
In time, the kit grows to be a smart, respectful young man - much quieter than Madam Lan would perhaps have hoped, but endearingly kind.
To her immense relief, the wards that lock her in do not affect him, allowing him to raid the clan library at his leisure during the hours its least frequented. Rarely does anyone notice a rabbit hop through Cloud Recesses, where wildlife is plenty and it's forbidden to do them harm.
Lan Zhan is careful not to be caught shifting into his human form to read, though once he does, has never been questioned regarding his presence. The Lan disciples are as numerous as the rabbits - no one ever notices the appearance of another.
Sometimes, he even sneaks into lessons, eager to learn more of the world; to hear what others have to say. To his mother's disbelief, he often brings homework back from these lessons, soon completed by her curious little boy, who loves nothing more than the chance to exercise the extent of his knowledge.
She feels a pang in her chest, realising that the Lan tutors' best student rarely returns his work for marking, thusly going unacknowledged. Unknown to her, LZ submits his homework punctually, under the name Lan Tuzi. He slips the sheets he writes on into the stack in LQR's study, unaware of a pair of eyes watching him.
Lan Tuzi quickly becomes LQR's favourite student.
----
At the age of seven, Lan Zhan returns home humming a song he heard played through an open window. When his mother notices the joy this music brings to him, she encourages him to pilfer a spare guqin from an empty house nearby, in order to learn how to play.
When he does as she asks, he meets a man, bedbound with some strange illness, but kind enough to gift him the instrument when he learns of Lan Zhan's purpose in his home. As he listens to the child speak, quiet and shy, his expression softens. Gazing upon him, his worn heart is filled with love.
Unbeknownst to the boy, he spends the afternoon in his father's presence. When, upon his imminent departure, the man offers to instruct his playing, an afternoon turns into every day.
Lan Zhan soon learns the man knows of his mother - was injured protecting her, even. Sometimes, he asks how she is. Sometimes, he'll send her a letter, shakily written, and receive one in reply. The replies always make him smile, small and soft in a way Lan Zhan is certain Mother would tease him about.
Lan Zhan is not a stupid boy. He soon begins to realise who the man is to him. Shy, he keeps the knowledge to himself, quietly relishing in his father's attention all the same.
He learns from the man that he has another son - that Lan Zhan has a brother - who doesn't see him, his caretakers concerned that seeing his father in such a state would scare the boy. Lan Zhan doesn't understand. Father is gentle and kind. Who would be scared of Father?
He says as much, and the man blinks at him, shocked to be recognised for who he is. Lan Zhan flushes upon realising what he's admitted, though his embarrassment is quickly tempered by the sight of QHJ's joyous smile. His parents love him, he knows, but even still he enjoys seeing it.
That night with the permission of his mother, he sleeps upon QHJ's bed in rabbit form, small and safe tucked in beside his father's mighty chest.
Inevitably, the next day Lan Zhan glimpses the boy who must be his brother. Though he notices him many times from that day on, he holds himself back from catching his eye, afraid of what such attention might bring.
Instead, he hops up to LXC as a bunny, chewing on the hem of the clan heir's robes until he's picked up and petted. He enjoys the attention so much he makes a habit of such visits, snuffling and thumping his feet till his brother settles him into his lap for a nice, long snuggling session.
On occasion, he brings LXC sweets, sneaked in from his trips into Caiyi town (funded, of course, by their ever-adoring father). When no one's around, he puts them in his brother's study, darting away swiftly before he's found.
----
On the eve of his tenth birthday, Lan Zhan finds an exquisitely crafted sword waiting on the steps of his mother's cottage, marked with his name. Beside it lies a bag of his favourite treats - the ones he often shares with Xichen. He eagerly picks the sword up, instantly enamoured by the delicate patterns of its sheath, and thin blade - slimmer than the width of a leaf, and shining like the moon.
Lan Zhan spends a long time wondering where the presents came from without success. Unable to think of a definite answer, he takes to training with the weapon daily, believing his dedication to be a more worthy expression of gratitude than anything else.
If a certain Lan heir catches him running through sword forms in a deserted training field, his mouth curving into a pleased smile at the sight, no one else needs hear of it.
When he turns fourteen, a second sword comes for him, humming with spiritual energy. To his immense surprise, the sword seems eager to be wielded by his hand, as though made with his qi in mind. Lan Zhan wonders once more how this could be, but soon pushes his questions aside. Whoever has gifted him this blade means well. He is more than happy to be the recipient of their support - and their candy.
For several years after this, Lan Zhan's days stay the same. He wakes in the home he shares with his mother, helps to prepare breakfast and assists her in fixing her hair.
Around midmorning, he shifts into rabbit form to accost his brother for more pets, after which he returns home to spend the next several hours in mediation or training, followed by an afternoon learning music under his father's guidance.
Twice a week, he makes the trip to Caiyi, in order to stretch his human legs freely, and as an excuse to buy unhealthy food to sate his - and his brother's - sweet tooth. In the evening, he often returns home in order to read theory before dinner, or else visits the library pavilion to peruse more books.
Lan Zhan - newly dubbed Lan Wangji, though neither of his parents seem hasty to use this name - is happy with his life. He'd prefer it, certainly, if his father was no longer crippled, and could see his mother as he pleased; if his mother was free to roam beyond the quaint borders of her garden. He'd like it even more if his brother knew who he was; if he no longer needed to hide from the rest of his clan for fear of being made to leave his mother behind.
But, he is not ungrateful. In the short years of his life he has gained a father's love, a gentleman's education, and a cultivator's core. He has honed his swordsmanship with enthusiasm, eaten more sweets than perhaps even his mother is aware of, and spent many happy days in LXC's company, free from expectation due to his rabbit form.
To Lan Wangji, his life is almost perfect, his world the exact right size for someone who spends a large amount of their time in the shape of a small, woodland creature. He's happy for it to remain this way indefinitely. For his blessings, Lan Wangji is more than grateful.
Then, during the summer of his sixteenth year, he meets a boy sneaking over the outer wall of the sect, and his world broadens against his will.
The boy's name is Wei Wuxian, and he clings to Lan Wangji like a disease. Lan Wangji is unsure what to make of the feelings this strange boy stirs in him, and so spends much of his time overwhelmed, his little bunny body shivering from the stress of it all.
He's tried turning back into a human to escape, but it only eggs WWX on. He seems obsessed with LWJ in either form, like some sort of predator, capable of scenting his blood.
Lan Wangji thumps his foot impatiently. If only WY would stop nuzzling him, perhaps he could think straight for a moment and figure it out!
Sadly, Wei Wuxian has no such intention, and only pauses to blow a raspberry onto his soft, round belly before resuming peppering his cheeks with kisses.
In the background, LXC watches on, the fire of jealousy burning in his eyes. That's his cute bunny brother WWX is caressing the tail of! It is Not For Touching! ๐ก
----
Lz: I am so sneaky. No one ever notices I'm here. ๐
The entirety of CR, seeing a child who looks eerily similar to LXC: ๐ I saw nothing.
----
Lxc: My baby brother is so cute. ๐ญ๐ญ
Guest disciple: You have a brother?
Lxc, holding out a portrait of a rabbit: Look at him! Look at his tiny feets! ๐ธ
Guest disciple: ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ
Lxc: He brings me sweets every time he goes to Caiyi. He's so filial. ๐ฅบ
----
Some time in the future:
Wwx: If you don't want the rabbits, I'll eat them!
Lwj: WY would eat a rabbit? ๐ฅบ๐ฅบ
----
Honestly, I got more into the idea of greatly adored bunbun LWJ than I thought I would.
Summary: He breaks off, grimacing and covering his nose. โSorry, thatโs really a lot of blood.โ
When he drops his hand, Lan Wangji catches a flash of a sharp, white fang.
In which Lan Wangji is investigating a string of strange deaths and Wei Wuxian is a vampire he canโt seem to kill.
[threadfic cross-posted from twitter]
My comments: One of my favourite thread fics of all time and I just found out that it's on AO3 too! I adore this story. Modern setting with cultivation where Lan Wangji is a cultivator who encounters cultivator-turned-vampire Wei Wuxian during a night-hunt and finds himself working together with him to solve a mystery. Of course, they end up growing closer as well and slowly but surely, Wei Wuxian finds a home in the Cloud Recesses. Fer's flavour of Wei Wuxian is something I always enjoy. There's just something so sad about him, that makes me want to huddle him in a blanket, but he doesn't let it weigh him down and he always moves forward, no matter how painful it is and I really like that. Lan Wangji too is just so soft and I love how he goes from "vampires are evil creatures and cannot be trusted" to "feed directly from me, Wei Ying, there's no one I trust like you."
Excerpt: For a moment Lan Wangji thinks, wildly, that this means Wei Ying has been working with the trap-layers this whole time. That Lan Wangji was a fool to keep letting Wei Ying find him, and for letting him go each time.
(He also thinks about how close they areโcloser than they were that first night when Wei Ying dragged him from the array. Like this, with Wei Ying collapsed on top of him, his fangs are centimeters from Lan Wangjiโs throat.)
Then Lan Wangji sees the dagger sticking out of Wei Yingโs shoulder.
In the few seconds it takes for Wei Ying to stir and push himself upโhissing in pain as he doesโLan Wangji understands. Wei Ying saw the dagger coming. If Wei Ying hadnโt pushed him, it wouldโve landed squarely in Lan Wangjiโs chest.
โAhh,โ Wei Ying is saying. Thereโs another hiss, a slick sound, and then Wei Ying is holding the bloody dagger in his lap. โDo you want this? For research, or something? Better wrap it up if so, I thinkโitโs poisoned. Ow.โ
Lan Wangji doesnโt scramble upโscramble is not something he doesโbut he gets himself upright very fast. โPoisoned,โ he says.
โYeah. So good thing it hit me, huh?โ Wei Ying sways a bit as he speaks.
pov lan wangji, pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern with magic, vampires, vampire wei wuxian, vampire wen ning, misunderstandings, blood drinking, angst with a happy ending, implied sexual content, getting to know each other, getting together, domestic fluff
~*~
(Pleaseย REBLOGย as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like โ or think others might like โ this story.)
One Can Keep A Secret (If He Does Not Know It's There) by H_Belle
One Can Keep A Secret (If He Does Not Know It's There)
by H_Belle
T, 5k, Wangxian
Summary: At fifteen, during summer camp in Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian invents a bunch of talismans when bored or prompted by Nie Husaisang. Thinking it awfully funny, he creates a throwaway account at a professional cultivation research/purchase network and uploads them for sale for a modest fee. Then, he forgets about the whole thing.
Years later, the mysterious Yiling Patriarch is known in all Jianghu as an elusive genius cultivator who revolutionised his field.
Those two statements might or might not be related.
In other words: three different ways in which Wei Wuxian finds out he is filthy rich and academically acclaimed. Thatโs it. Thatโs the story.
Kay's comments: This story was absolutely delightful and I loved how it told us the three different ways in which it all went down. I loved the humour and how the characters were protrayed and Wangxian finding their way together was nice in every version too. I'm so weak for genius inventor Wei Wuxian and this story definitely did him justice. And of course, I'm also very fond of modern cultivation stories, so this was just a great read all around for me.
Excerpt: Lan Xichen put a placating hand on his uncleโs arm. โMaster Wei, donโt you have a phone? Or internet access? Many people have been trying to reach you.โ
Wei Wuxian cocked his head, ponytail swishing to the side. โReach me?โ Him? What people? Like, cultivation clans people?
Sounded fake.
โWhatever for?โ
For a hot moment, it looked like the sheer outrage robbed Lan Qiren of his words.
โHave you been paying ANY attention to the world outside this backwater?!โ
Well.
The short answer would be no.
The long answer would still be a no but with a fuck you attached that could be extended to a low-key retort.
pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern with magic, humor, inventor wei wuxian, genius wei wuxian, secret identity, yiling laozu wei wuxian, identity reveal, rogue cultivator wei wuxian, pining lan wangji, getting together, happy ending, college/university, research, good friend nie huaisang, @hedgebelle
~*~
(Pleaseย REBLOGย as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like โ or think others might like โ this story.)
Okay this Saturday night letโs go from geeky adorable #XiaoZhan to hotter than ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ #XiaoZhan ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ 7.94 GiC:/ ๅคๅถๆๅผๆ้ณ๏ผ็็ใ่ๆ็ไฝๅใ๐ v.douyin.com/B9hTXfu/
How are you doing on this very special day?? I hope your day is going well.
I just want to remind you that you're an amazingly awesome being and I love you so very much.
Happy Happy Happy Birthday to you๐๐๐!!!
Ps: I'd draw for you, but I also don't want to traumatise you. So instead, I'm going to shower you with lots of platonic hugs and kisses- if only you want them, of course..
Anywayysssss, have a wonderful day๐
~Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out~๐๐๐โค๐๐
Hiii
I loved reading this! Thank you so much M! I appreciate you. I love you lots too. I accept all the hugs and kisses lol. Going to the mall with my sibling and friends was lots of fun. Bought some cool things, went to the arcade and got Chipotle! It was great!
GUYS! So you know how Avengers: Endgame came out in April 2019? And then later in the year COVID-19 started? And now basically half the world is dead one year later? And remember how building were destroyed because of rebellions? The government is either using it to cover up some of the damage or just told us that, using the mist from the Percy Jackson fandom to make us blind to it. See what Iโm getting at here???????
Hey Big B, Happy happy happy birthday to you๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ. Wishing you the best! Please take very good care of yourself, alright. I love you๐.๐จ๐จ๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆช๐ง๐จ๐ช๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฅฎ๐๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฆ๐จ๐ฅช๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฅฆ๐ถ๐ฅฅ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ฅฌ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฝ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฅฆ๐ฅ๐ซ๐ฅฌ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฅenjoy your day!
Thank youuu ๐ญ I love you so much! Thanks for the feast lol
I'M BAAAACCCKKKKKK!!!๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ . I missed you too๐๐๐!
I'M BAAAACCCKKKKKK!!!๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ . I missed you too๐๐๐!
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