Mute!WWX. Lan Zhan and Jiang Chang meet Wei Ying the night he torments Wen Chao to death, but Wei Ying doesn’t speak. He nervously gets across to them that he cannot speak (he isn’t hurt, he assures them. But his voice has left him in the three months he’s been missing, what he has been through has silenced him). Lan Zhan never realised that a silent Wei Wuxian was never what he wanted. He would do anything to hear him again, to hear his laugh or taunts. But his love is silent, and any progress WWX makes is swiftly undone by the uncaring judgement of the cultivation world. Lan Zhan fears he will never hear his voice again, and vows to speak up on his behalf: as he has what Wei Ying does not. It is hard, but he will do it for Wei Ying. He will speak.
You’re making me cry with this prompt. (But I love it!!)
Sorry for taking so long! Enjoy!
Lan Wangji’s heart was in his throat as he took in Wei Ying’s approaching form. He looked…..haunted, exhausted, and terribly, terribly hot angry. But then he noticed something. For all that Wei Ying seemed to despise the sight of Wen Zhuliu and Wen Chao. He said nothing. Not even a dry laugh or word escaped his mouth.
That was the first thing Lan Wangji noticed was wrong.
Then, Wen Zhuliu went towards him, his core melting technique armed and ready and Lan Wangji crashed through the roof, ready to protect Wei Ying who didn’t seem all that keen on doing so himself. Because he didn’t dodge Wen Zhuliu’s attack. Why?
As Zidian wrapped around Wen Zhuliu’s neck, Lan Wangji relaxed, turning his attention to Wei Ying who didn’t look all that great. He was gaunt, thin and very pale. Resentful energy cloaked him like a mantle and Lan Wangji speed a fleeting thought to those rumors of Wei Ying being tossed into the Burial Mounds. But no one survives the Burial Mounds. There isn’t even there anything to eat—
There isn’t anything there to eat. Lan Wangji realized with a shock. Perhaps, Wei Ying was thrown into the Burial Mounds. It would explain why he’s cloaked in resentful energy and so so pale and starved.
No one survives the Burial Mounds. But what if someone could? There must have been some sort of price Wei Ying had to pay.
Lan Wangji observed Wei Ying’s reaction upon getting his sword and noticed the unmistakable grief passing through grey eyes. Why grief? What happened? And why does it look like Wei Ying has trouble holding his sword up?
His mind was fraying at the edges with worry.
When Jiang Wanyin tried to yell at Wei Wuxian for not responding, Lan Wangji’s first observation proved true. Wei Ying couldn’t speak.
When questioned about the rumors of him in the Mounds, there was a definite shake of his head, denying the claims, but neither Lan Wangji more Jiang Wanyin missed the slight tremble in Wei Wuxian’s frame.
“Wei Ying…..” He said shakily. “Wei Ying, are you well?”
Stupid, stupid me. Of course Wei Ying isn’t fine! Lan Wangji berated himself, acknowledging the unconvincing nod.
Wei Wuxian tilted his head in confusion at his silence.
“Wei Ying, why can’t you speak?” Something haunted passed through Wei Wuxian’s eyes and he rolled his shoulders in an unmistakable expression of ‘I don’t know’.
Neither Lan Wangji nor Jiang Wanyin bought it but both of them decided against pushing him.
Wen Chao groaned and Jiang Wanyin dismissed him, saying that the matter of the Wens in front of him were for the Jiang sect to handle. Lan Wangji noticed the cruelty and anger in his beloved’s eyes and nodded, walking away.
In another world, Wei Wuxian would have deflected from any visible wound - mental or physical - on his body.
In another world, Lan Wangji would have been successfully distracted from his observations and questioned Wei Wuxian on his cultivation.
In another world, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian would fight and the tentative bond that had formed during the Xuanwu fight would break.
Lan Wangji returned to his room, intent on scouring through his mind for any tomes that might help with Wei Ying’s sudden muteness.
His brother came into his tent, asking how he had been and Lan Wangji conveyed his observations and worries about Wei Ying to his brother. Lan Xichen was silent before replying, “Perhaps it is trauma? I have read of many cases of cultivators becoming mute from their experiences and if the rumors about Wei-gongzi falling into the Miunds prove true…..well. Any cultivator would be sufficiently shocked to silence by that.”
“Mn.” Lan Wangji was angry. Angry at what Wei Ying’s had suffered and at himself.
“Wangji. Don’t blame yourself.”
“But, if I had stayed at Lotus Pier, then maybe……” Maybe the remaining cultivators at the Cloud Recesses could have showed up at Louts Pier to take him back. Maybe they might have been able to save Lotus Pier from destruction. Maybe their added assistance could have prevented Wei Ying from suffering so much.
“Perhaps the both of you might have been in danger then.” Lan Xichen interrupted. “Wangji, there’s no use in thinking of what if’s. What matters now is that the both of you are alive. Maybe not quite safe, but alive nonetheless.”
“Mn.” Lan Wangji felt reassured by these words. It was no use in thinking of the past. Right now, Lan Wangji had to focus on the present and what he could do. “Brother, of those victims, did any have their voice returned to them?”
“Hmm, rarely. It took years and much reassurance by loved ones to slowly coax back their voice.”
“I see.” Lan Wangji frowned. “One more thing. Brother, Wei Ying’s cultivation, it….”
Here, his brother furrowed his eyebrows as well. “Wangji, based on what you have told me, I believe there may be something wrong with Wei-gongzi’s core. From what I have heard, he was captured by Wen Chao. If he didn’t dodge Wen Zhuliu’s core melting attack…..” He trailed off but Lan Wangji finished the picture himself.
He was captured by Wen Chao. And didn’t Wen Zhuliu often travel with him? Though…. “That wouldn’t explain why Wen Zhuliu still used his attack on Wei Ying.”
“Hmm. Good point. Perhaps then, it might be cruel, but Wei-gongzi’s core could be fractured? We all heard how much Wen Chao hated Wei-gongzi. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and torture him this way.”
Lan Wangji was horrified. Could it really be like that?
“Observe Wei-gongzi longer. If he doesn’t carry his sword, then, I would suspect this to be true.”
It had been weeks since then. Lan Wangji talked to Jiang Wanyin and heard that despite seeing his sister again, Wei Ying still did not speak. He cried, but no sound escaped him. Lan Wangji had hoped, that Jiang Yanli of all people could help coax some words out of him, considering how much Wei Ying loved her.
No matter. Xichen has said it would take years. But this is war. There’s not much time to focus on healing Wei Wuxian mentally. But Lan Wangji could try. He knows that there is something between him and Wei Ying. Something not quite friendship but not quite anything at all.
And lately, in Lan Wangji’s dreams, he fantasized about bringing back Wei Ying’s laugh and smile. It’s true what they say about not realizing how precious something is until you lose it. Lan Wangji always thought what it would be like to see a silent Wei Wuxian.
He wanted to hear Wei Ying laugh and smile and tease him again. He wanted to hear his voice, he exuberance, his brightness again. But the war and the Wens had taken that away. All that is left is a thin, traumatized boy with darkness at his fingertips and at his every beck and call.
And that was the other thing. Wei Ying’s use of demonic cultivation. While it really helped then all on the battlefield, outside, people gossiped about his power. They were jealous of it, frightened of it, greedy to obtain it and him for their own and all of this made Lan Wangji incredibly angry. Because could they not see? For all that Wei Ying was a force on the battlefield, use of his cultivation drained him both physically and mentally. Bruises collected under his eyes, he was unsteady after each battle. He was pale and still thin and always looked on the brink of collapse. And as much as Lan Wangji wanted to berate Wei Wuxian for continuing his use of the cultivation, he noticed no sign of his sword on him and that stopped him from saying anything. After all, if his and his brother’s theory of Wei Ying’s fractured core proved true, then bringing that kind of thing up would only hurt the relationship between them.
And these past few weeks, Lan Wangji hadn’t been idle. He had been working on communicating to Wei Ying and loved the results that came from it.
Though it was difficult, Wei Ying’s brilliant mind came to the rescue as he was able to come up with a talisman that projected his thoughts.
And lately…..lately, finally! Lan Wangji coaxed a smile out of Wei Ying. It had taken the course of two months, but through the Jiang siblings and Lan Wangji’s painstaking efforts, Wei Ying finally smiled. He still hadn’t said a word, but that was progress enough.
And yet……upon the worsening rumors surrounding Wei Ying, it disappeared all too soon. Wei Ying’s smile vanished and he seemed to curl in on himself, trying to withdraw from Lan Wangji and from his own siblings so as to not drag them down with him.
And Lan Wangji, for once, wished he was the type of person to speak his thoughts out loudly to all those who took Wei Ying’s smile away. He wanted to shout that he didn’t care. He wanted to exclaim that he would stand by Wei Ying’s side throughout it all.
He told Wei Ying as such and watched as wonder colored silver eyes.
That night, he took up Wei Ying’s offer of his hellishly spicy food and was rewarded with a small, breathy giggle as his eyes teared up from the sheer amount of chilies that set his mouth on fire.
At the giggle, Lan Wangji’s eyes widened and he saw Wei Ying’s eyes shine mischievously, a remnant of the bright boy he thought he lost. Relief coated his heart despite the hellfire in his mouth and his lips lifted up into a smile.
Wei Ying’s breath hitched and a small blush bloomed across his cheeks. Lan Wangji wanted nothing more than to reach out and—
“Wei-gongzi! There you are, something has happened to your sister!”
The warm and somewhat intimate scene shattered as Wei Ying’s expression darkened. They followed the Jin disciple only to see Jiang Yanli crying and Jin Zixuan looking a little lost and perhaps a touch regretful.
The truth about the soup came out and Lan Wangji felt that Jin Zixuan deserved the punch Wei Ying flung at him.
“You damned peacock!” Wei Ying wrote in the air. “Never let me see you within a li of Shijie again!!”
It was the first time Lan Wangji had seen him so angry since Wei Ying killed Wen Chao. He didn’t know if it was wrong that he thought Wei Ying was really really sexy hot intimidating then.
Wei Ying created the Stygian Tiger Seal. And for all that it helped them, it weakened his love even more than his normal use of demonic cultivation. The first time he used it, he fainted as soon as he was off the battlefield, not waking up for two days. Despite this, everyone else only feared him, desired him, wanted to restrain him even more.
As the rumors got out of hand, Lan Wangji stopped the pretense of being able to hold himself back and glared at everyone in the vicinity, shutting them up.
Lan Wangji swore to get better at speaking. After all, he needed to tell the world to stop judging Wei Wuxian. Without him, the losses would have been a lot worse. So how dare these people slander him?
People should be grateful that Wei Wuxian is sacrificing his well-being in order to use demonic cultivation to aid them and yet, they think of him as a weapon that needs to be dealt with after the war.
His brother knew how much the rumors infuriate him and knew that Wei Ying was traumatized enough to not be able to speak. He had spoken to Chifeng-zun about it who had observed Wei Ying himself and doesn’t take kindly to the rumors. Though, Bie Mingjue said, he doesn’t approve of demonic cultivation. As long as Wei Wuxian stops it after the war, he would be fine with it.
Lan Wangji could only hope that Wei Ying wouldn’t need to use demonic cultivation. The matter of Wei Ying’s core is a secret that both he and his brother have kept to themselves.
On that topic, Lan Wangji is sure, more than ever, that Wei Ying’s core is compromised. He can barely feel the spiritual energy emanating from Wei Ying, after all. Wouldn’t a fractured core do that? Wangji just hoped that with all this use of demonic cultivation, that the state of his core wouldn’t worsen.
The war ended finally. But there was no time to rest as Jin Guangshan, who finally decided to show up, wanted to take Wei Ying under his wing under the pretense of “monitoring” him since the Jiang sect is recovering. Lan Wangji understood that this wasn’t the intention at all. No one had missed that the Jins are the sect that came out the least damaged. And now they’re trying to control Wei Ying? Anyone with a brain could see that it’s a poor attempt at gaining power.
Which is why Lan Wangji is shocked at how many people decidedly do not have a brain.
They fell for Jin Guangshan’s coated words so easily that Wangji wondered just how some of these people became sect leaders in the first place.
Jiang Wanyin is visibly unhappy with this. Lan Wangji knew how overprotective the other man had gotten over Wei Ying especially considering his lack of speech and hearing how another sect leader wants to take him away infuriated him.
Wei Ying tried to calm Jiang Wanyin down but without his gift of speech, it’s difficult. Wei Ying had ran out of talisman paper to be able to project his thoughts and hadn’t had time to replenish his stock so he’s reduced to gestures.
Jin Guangshan is smart enough to notice that and deflects to reinstating the engagement between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji wanted to stare at that man in disbelief. Did he not hear Jin Zixuan insulting Jiang Yanli one too many times? Even if Jiang Yanli has a big heart, a person is bound to be hurt by that. Wei Ying is visibly mad and frantically gestures around, only calmed by Jiang Yanli, who points out their mourning sashes. They weren’t subtle.
(She gently refused the offer. After all that has happened between her and Jin Zixuan, she had begun to doubt her feelings for the other man. And with his sect trying to get their grubby hands on her A’ Xian, her feelings for Jin Zixuan mattered little.)
Lan Wangji decided that he’s had enough at a Discussion Conference when Jin Guangshan brings up Wei Ying’s cultivation.
Chifeng-zun got ahead of him though, annoyed at the constant prodding of Wei Wuxian (who had indeed stopped using demonic cultivation after the war). He shouted at Jin Guangshan, only further incensed when Jin Guangyao tries to placate both sides by bringing up the Seal.
Lan Wangji, who had been spending time with Wei Ying in between rebuilding the Cloud Recesses, knew that Wei Ying had planned on destroying the Seal once the Jiang sect was in a good spot.
“You say this, but without Wei Ying’s use of the Seal, would we have so easily won?” Lan Wangji said, quietly, but firm.
“Wei Ying sacrificed his health, his well-being to use the Seal and all you can think about is trying to control him?” Lan Wangji demanded.
Wei Wuxian stared at him, wide-eyed and mouthing his name but Lan Wangji was too busy fuming. The room burst into a frenzy of chatter as people were unsure of what to do. The general consensus was to monitor him as one would do a dangerous weapon but the moral thing to do would be to leave him alone.
Xichen put out a hand to calm him and Wangji reluctantly sat back down. “So, what would you suggest we do, Jin-zongzhu, to an already traumatized boy? It is widely known that he lost his voice because of the events that occurred in the war. And yet, you suggest taking him away from his family, from his home and put him in an unfamiliar place.”
Jin Guangshan smile goes stale while Jin Guangyao’s goes strained. “Well, Lan-zongzhu, he would be given adequate care here. He would want for nothing.”
“Nothing matters more to Wei Ying than family.” Lan Wangji stood up.
Lan Xichen nodded. “Wangji is right. Though I’m sure that the Lanling Jin sect is more than equipped with people who can help Wei-gongzi and make him comfort but it would be counterproductive nonetheless. The last thing Wei-gongzi needs to do is get separated from his family.”
And that was the end of that. The Discussion Conference ended swiftly and they were all quickly escorted out.
Things I should explain. Lan Wangji is an observant fellow. I headcanon that he did have suspicions that Wei Wuxian fell into the Burial Mounds but in canon, Wei Wuxian denied this so he put his suspicions to rest. Here, Wei Wuxian can’t speak. He can’t dodge the question as easily because he can’t use wordplay to deflect from the conversation. I’m sure Lan Xichen would receive Lan Wangji’s observations but in canon, Lan Wangji was too frazzled and heartbroken at his fight with Wei Wuxian to tell his brother of what Wei Wuxian’s general condition was like. For Lan Wangji’s observation of a possible fractured core, I did it this way to explain what Lan Wangji might have seen in canon. Because for sure, Lan Wangji sensed that something was off because I’m sure a cultivator can sense the spiritual energy emanating from another but Wei Wuxian has only a little since his meridians are still intact. They must contain a little bit of spiritual energy which is why Lan Wangji thinks that Wei Wuxian only has a fractured core. Of course, a healer would say something different but I’m sure Wei Wuxian avoided healers like the plague unless absolutely necessary.
I’m sorry this took so long! Being in a summer camp that restricts technology was not exactly conducive to writing. Hope you enjoyed it!
Btw, my asks are still locked because I want to finish the rest of the prompts people have given me.
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