new pinned: this blog is so private that i am just not really here, ever! if you know me on discord you can ask to thread, but otherwise... move along... hehe
EITHER OBLIVIOUS TO HIS own animosity or ignoring it, Tem simply continues on her way. She nearly stops at his comment, head turning to look at him with an expression of shock, even moreso when he says something…somewhat useful-sounding.
“ Oh? And do you know how to do that? ” She asks, tone less angry than before; it’s a genuine question, but she can’t help some of her usual skepticism bleeding into her voice regardless.
She, too, spots the mess and slows her pace, stepping carefully around the tracks. “ I’m surprised we don’t hear them, ” She mumbles thoughtfully, trying to trace one to the edge. “ …This seems fresher than the others, I guess we’ll follow this. ”
that doesn’t get a response. Not all questions gets answers. It’s not that Yu Chen doesn’t know how to flip a vishap onto its back when the heat of battle strikes, but putting that into words on an otherwise sunny day to someone who’s walking with the intensity of one who’s being chased? He’d rather conserve his energy. Actions are supposed to speak louder than words, anyway.
It’s true that it feels too quiet, considering the number of beasts they’re supposed to be following. Yu Chen follows alongside Tem, taking long and lazy steps of his own.
❝ Have you ever had bamboo shoot soup? ❞ he asks, once the quiet starts to feel weird. She’ll have to forgive him, but he’s already thinking ahead to an eventual eastward journey and some of the comforts of home. ❝ They’re good at making at Wangshu Inn. Maybe we can go there when we’re finished. ❞
YES, YES, of course he would say that. For someone as skilled as Wei Wuxian, it’s astounding the lack of actual bookwork he does. He pouts at Wangji, clearly disliking that response, and he’s never hidden his distaste for it beforeーso why start now?
But the Patriarch’s expression gives way to surprise, and then a broad grin when he seems to come around. “ Counter-offers! Hmmm… ” It appears as though WWX is thinking hard, but in truth, there are already a million ideas in his mind about ways their time could be better spent than this. “ We could take a trip into the city! Or simply take a walk. Ah! We should go to the river! It’s been a long time since we stepped foot in there! ”
if that is what he wants, then they can go to the river -- not that Lan Wangji is averse to such a plan himself, because if it results in swimming, that means fewer layers of clothing between them. ( His expression might betray what he is thinking, and he does his best to blink away any traces of impure thoughts before they’re noticed. )
He spends a careful moment closing his books and putting away his calligraphy brushes, before gathering the long fabric of the Gusu Lan robe’s trailing sleeves. ❝ It rained. The shore will be muddy. ❞
Wei Ying will know more about that, about the ebb and flow of snowmelt and rainwater as it swells and shrinks in the lakes of Yunmeng. Happy memories, or tainted ones? Either way, he’ll listen.
❝ .. Little Apple will like the walk, ❞ he muses also. Wei Ying will want to ride, won’t he? They’ll have to go and collect the sour beast from the stables first, it seems.
BEIDOU’S PATIENCE REMAINS, even as Ningguang does everything she can to make this take as long as possible ( or at least, it feels that way ). Of course the weather is going to be near perfect; Beidou knows when to take to the sea.
Well. Not that bad weather would stop her, necessarily. But in this scenario; yes.
The captain takes Ningguang’s hand delicately, as she deserves. It’s not that the Tianquan needs her support for anything, but it’s a pointed gesture that would erase any doubts inside herーif there were any, that is. At the docks, away from the major hubbub, is a small but very nice boat awaiting the two of them. This time, Beidou boards first and then offers her hand to Ningguang; except now, they’re no longer Tianquan and Crux Captain. Just two entwined souls.
the view today offers blue skies and bluer waters; some of Ningguang’s misgivings are put to ease at the sight of their present harmony. It’s not even that she prefers solid ground--look no further than a mansion set among the clouds as proof--but one can always do without the kinds of pitching and rolling waves that spoil a pleasant meal.
❝ Taking advantage of the nice weather while it lasts, ❞ Ningguang deduces as her hand slips from Beidou’s, coming to rest against the edge of the boat instead. ❝ I admire the opportunism from you. ❞
Maybe business and piracy are alike in that way; see an opening, take an opening. One of the many valuable understandings between them that dictate why Ningguang will keep Beidou close, despite everything.
SHE’S GOT A MULTITUDE OF ANSWERS for a question like that. And though she’d be happy to share them, his idiotic commentaryーafter making her want to strangle himーpushes her to take a slow, calming breath. This is a commission, and even though she hates him, it would be nice not to fuck this up just because he’s an annoying, lazy, insufferable…
That aside. Tem shakes her head, and looks back to Chen, the glare not fully wiped from her features. “ Oh, please. Two vision wielders should be more than enough. You’re like, in charge of a squadron or something, aren’t you? I would imagine you can take at least one on your own. And I’m not worried about myself. Speed will only get them so farーas long as we’re on top of it, they’ll come down sooner or later. ”
so yeah, technically he’s in charge of some guys, but he’d describe his leadership style as collaborative--which seems to be quite the opposite of Tem’s strategy. Yu Chen blinks at her balefully before he takes a few rushing steps to catch up.
❝ Speaking of tops and bottoms, ❞ he muses, deciding it’s better not to pry too closely about who and what she’s worried about, if not herself, ❝ they’re all soft underneath. Relatively, I mean. So it’s best to flip them over, if you know how to do it. ❞
There’s tracks in the ground ahead, criss-crossing across the mud at the roots of the rocky cliffs; like a mess of cart tracks outside Liyue Harbor, it’s not easy to tell which direction is the most recent, but it should be easy enough to pick out their targets from here...
THE GRIN RETURNS TO HER FACE, larger than before. She’d known the Tianquan would give in, and yet, there’s always a chance that she won’t. It wouldn’t be the first time Beidou’s had to find some other way to entertain herself, or simply return to the ship to employ a new task.
And, of course she knows when Ningguang is about to get up for some strict schedule to-do. But of course, she fibs without any real dedication; “ I would never do such a thing to our mighty Tianquan! ” Eagerly and impatiently, Beidou watches the other, waiting for her to get up so they can get going already. She has no plans to drag Ningguang onto the Cruxーno, she’s got a smaller boat ready and waiting for them. A little private excursion, if one so pleased. And it seems that this time, she does.
she would certainly do such a thing. Ningguang controls her expression as she tidies her workspace, hanging up her brushes and leaving her calligraphy to dry. The weather at least promises sparse clouds and gentle breezes, or else she never would have agreed to this venture, but she still takes a moment to adjust the fox fur stole around her shoulders before motioning for Beidou to follow her outside of the chamber.
A word to the secretaries, and a step onto the jade platform that will help them descend back down to the realm of mortals; Ningguang offers a gloved hand, knowing that anyone here in her employ can be trusted not to raise their eyebrows too high over this little thing.
AT SOME POINT, WWX WAS PROBABLY saying more than just Wangji’s name over and over, but perhaps he’d actually bored himself out of that given the total lack of response. Hence the shift to physical harassment, though he won’t ever become so tired of it that he’d stop running his mouth altogether.
The patriarch perks up when Wangji finally responds, sitting up straight out of excitement and finally taking his weight off of the Lan. But then, his face falls. “ Rest? You’ve forced me to sit here all day doing nothing! We need to do the opposite of rest! ”
the rabbits often jolt like that when they’re picked up. Kicking feet, flattened ears. Lan Wangji has learned to interpret it as excitement, since what follows is often a treat stolen away from the kitchens -- berries, various leaves.
He has no such treats for Wei Ying at the moment.
❝ Studying is not being idle, ❞ he corrects, tone not precisely the same as the one he uses when he has to scold the juniors. His hand, balanced above his knee, twitches; he has one idea of what they might do that is very much opposite from imbuing themselves with knowledge from profound scholars, and there’s no particular reason why he should show restraint at the moment.
❝ ... However, I will consider your counter-offers. ❞
According to the legends, the Yu family’s uncannily good luck is a gift from an adeptal ancestor—a great golden carp who once swam in the waters of Bishui Plain, and gave up his beast form to be with a beautiful maiden from the Yu family. Their ancestors have enjoyed good fortune in Liyue, with successful merchants and administrators arising with every generation.
Yu Chen is the son of a Ministry of Civil Affairs bureaucrat and a gifted tea grower from the area around Qingce. Expectations for him were always high… and the older he got, the more he seemed to defy them as he gleefully skipped lessons from tutors and roamed Liyue Harbor, buying snacks and playing games with other children.
Despite their good fortunes, the Yus always believed that good luck should only come to those who work hard—a core value that Yu Chen failed to exemplify even as his eighteenth birthday arrived. So as a birthday gift, his father made an arrangement with the Ministry of Civil Affairs: Chen would be given a position as an officer of the Millelith. Rather than being a reward, this was meant to teach him some responsibility.
At first, as Yu Chen and his small group of soldiers were assigned to different posts around Liyue, his casual attitude persisted—wasn’t this just an opportunity to try local delicacies, observe the natural beauty of Liyue, and take pictures with the expensive kamera his mother had gifted him? Maybe it was the legendary good luck of the Yu family that kept them away from marauding geovishaps and vicious bandits; the young recruits were happy enough to follow his languorous command.
That was until the Treasure Hoarder ambush.
Something stirred beneath the rocks in Jueyun Karst and exposed an old mine shaft. Yu Chen’s small company went to investigate, and in the dark and the confusion, they stumbled across an old shrine—maybe even a burial site, laden with dried flowers and mora. There wasn’t much time to consider it; in the spacious chamber, the small group of Millelith soldiers mounted their defense as crossbow darts and grenades suddenly began to fly.
How exactly did it happen? Yu Chen remembers thinking that it was a shame that more people couldn’t just enjoy blue skies and steamed buns and painted fans, and that none of his soldiers would have to be put in danger at all if these Treasure Hoarders would simply appreciate Liyue’s charms. Then he took a shovel to the face and was knocked backwards against the memorial stele.
As blood dripped down his forehead, his fingers closed around something cold and metallic. The stone chamber was suddenly bathed in the verdant glow of a grassy field in the afternoon. Feeling refreshed, Yu Chen was able to disarm the Treasure Hoarder’s commander. The group was subdued without a single loss on the side of the Millelith, and Yu Chen proceeded to inventory the contents of the mine as they waited for backup.
The strangest part was the bright green Vision that had appeared in his hand during the battle. At first, Yu Chen assumed it must have belonged to the person the stele commemorated, until his companions informed him that a Vision would go dark if its bearer was killed. Had one of them reawakened it? None of them would claim it, and in fact they insisted it was Yu Chen’s own command of the Vision that had fatefully turned the skirmish in their favor and given them the strength to fight on.
Little could he have realized that the original Vision bearer was a Millelith soldier like himself who wished to keep Liyue safe so that its people could enjoy good food and fine weather.
SHE WISHES SHE COULD BELIEVE HE’S more diligent when he’s on shift, but she knows that’s not true. Why did she even have to drag him along? She’d be better off doing this by herself. ( His healing abilities are really useful, but hell, is he even reliable enough to use them? )
Somehow, each thing he says irritates her more than the next. What’s her plan? Isn’t that like, his whole job?
Frustrated ( what else is new ), Tem runs a hand through her hair. “ My plan is to find the hatchlings and fucking wreck them. could you maybe, I dunno, help with that? ”
why is she so angry? Did these hatchlings hurt her family or something? Or a friend, or a romantic partner...? It doesn’t seem like such an angry person would actually have any of those latter two, but Yu Chen has learned that his ideas about that sort of thing don’t always align with others’ ideas. She could have a friend after all, and they could be lying flat in the bamboo groves full of tread marks from a rolling hatchling. Condolences, if so.
❝ That’s not a plan, ❞ Yu Chen corrects quietly, dragging his attention back to the conversation at hand. It’s not meant out of malice, so his voice isn’t sharing her annoyance; he’s just making an observation about the non-specificity of ‘fucking wrecking.’ ❝ They’re faster than you and me, and there’s only two of us, but four of them, so you see... ❞
A SHARP, BUT NOT UNEXPECTED RESPONSE. Bediou of course means nothing negative by bringing up the Ninggaung’s past; it’s more that she wants to elicit a nostalgic response from the Tianquan; something she doesn’t expect to work often, but will try constantly until it does.
Letting out an amused scoff, Beidou rolls hers and straightens up, arms still crossed. “ And why would I want to go fishing with someone plucked off the street? ” She asks. “ Besides, they’re all too afraid of me or hate me for ‘ wronging ’ you or some nonsense. ” As she speaks, Beidou tosses a hand up to wave away the idea. “ I’m asking you because I want to go with you. I know how efficient you areーa small excursion won’t set you back much, if at all. ”
how funny. There are many people in Liyue who are more adept at choosing words of flattery, but very few of them -- in fact, really none of them at all, as most of their efforts end up feeling quite egregious -- have done much to move Ningguang’s heart. Why should she care about this clumsy offer to put worms and flies on hooks and pull up damp, wriggling things from the harbor?
❝ You do wrong me, ❞ Ningguang sighs, leaning back in her chair. ❝ I suppose you must have conspired on purpose to annoy me just before I take my customary walk down to the harbor, hmm? Very well; I’ll accompany you for a short time, but I insist that we return immediately after sundown. ❞
... Maybe she can excuse this as being part of the myriad of harbor management policies she oversees.
SEEING AS SHE’S NOT A MIND-READER, she doesn’t know that he’s already seen them. if she did, though, she’d take him out before going to finish those things off. His commentary feels random, even though it’s technically on topic.
“ I’m…not surprised by that. At all. But, uh. ” Tem fights the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. “ Whether they’re asleep or awake, we’re supposed to be taking care of them. They’re getting too close to a village. ” Why is she reminding him of that? Shouldn’t he be the one more worried about the details?!
but the village will have seen geovishaps before! It’s one of the things that you learn to grow up with in Liyue, like honking cranes at dawn and arguments over contracts in front of the shops in Liyue Harbor. Wisdom says to just avoid the nasty creatures if possible... but it’s true that they’re destructive when they get into someone’s garden and rip up all the radishes. Or into their homes, and rip up... ah, well, rocks aren’t really enough for those situations.
❝ We can investigate, ❞ Yu Chen agrees, blinking lazily. Technically, he’s off duty right now, but it’s not like the requests for help ever slow down just because he’s out of uniform. ❝ What’s your plan? ❞
"Come on now, don't you ever get tired of doing all this work?" Beidou taunts the Tianquan, leaning back against a pillar, looking much more patient than she's making herself sound. "Come out on my ship with me. We can fish, remind you of your humble roots!"
curse the wayward tongues of pirates. It’s not that those humble roots cause Ningguang shame; on the contrary, they’re a reminder of how far she has risen, and so those words won’t leave any bruises today. But Beidou lacks any shame whatsoever, and Ningguang’s nail guards click against the mahogany of her writing desk in annoyance.
❝ A few thousand residents of Liyue Harbor have the ability to catch fish with you, but only one can conduct the business of the Tianquan. Please don’t trouble me with these stupid questions, Captain. ❞
“ YOU KNOW, FOR A MEMBER OF THE MILILETH, I expected you to be more…capable. ” Honestly, even as the words come out of her mouth, she knows they aren’t true. From the moment she’d found him happily tucked away in a cave, apparently none the wiser to the slew of large monsters prowling around outside, she’d known that he is very, very stupid.
“ Geovishap hatchlings are quick, but aggressive. They’re not exactly known for their sleuth. It shouldn’t be difficult to find them once we get to the right area. ”
he’s no stranger to comments like that, so Yu Chen shrugs his shoulders and lets it roll off like water. Was he aware of the hatchlings? Well, yes, loosely -- he passed them on the way in, and assumed they might have gotten bored and left already, or that they’d be sleeping.
❝ You can throw rocks to wake them up, ❞ he suggests. ❝ I used to do that when I was a kid, until I got in trouble for provoking them. ❞ Angry geovishaps was bad for merchant caravans, apparently. And... so were the falling rocks, for that matter. Who knew?
"Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!" The demonic cultivator has been pestering Lan Zhan like this for the better part of an hour. How he hasn't had his mouth sealed shut by magic is a mystery, although these days, LZ seems much less inclined to do that. Wei Wuxian leans into Lan Zhan's shoulder excessively, so much so that if he weren't so closely related to a stone statue, he'd likely have tipped over by now.
there was a time when Lan Wangji wouldn't have hesitated to use the Lan clan's unique silencing spell, but that was before he knew how awfully he would miss that voice. If he doesn't reply immediately, it's not out of ignorance or annoyance; it's more like the way cats sometimes creep into the pavilions of the Cloud Recesses and lie in the long patches of sunlight streaming in from the windows, soaking up the warmth.
❝ Wei Ying. ❞ A quiet point of acknowledgement, one that he'll never get tired of saying. ❝ ... Should we rest? ❞
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