THE UNTAMED FAN FIC: THE TANGLED HEART
(on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/zqGxw9Zjh3
"It's been two days." Jingyi said as he absentmindedly handed a carrot to a bunny without even noticing that his carrot was too high for the little thing. The poor bunny was bobbing with his whisks contracting as it tried to sniff the unreachable food.
Sizhui turned at the sound and saw the whole situation. He shook his head before taking a step to stand behind his best friend and placed his hand atop Jingyi's. Then, he pressed their hands down together to lower the carrot for the bunny. However, Jingyi dropped it instead, surprised by the burning sensation of the touch.
"Sizhui." He retracted his hand swiftly and looked behind his back. His voice sounded weird.
Sizhui frowned at Jingyi's odd reaction. He also noticed that Jingyi's face was so red when his color was just normal a few seconds ago. He was about to ask about this strangeness when he was interrupted by another presence.
"How come the Lan's disciples have so much time on their hands to leisurely feed the rabbits?"came a voice that Sizhui and Jingyi knew so well without having to look.
"Young Mistress, aren't you the same? To come here from Lanling Jin when you were just here two days ago. Don't you too have much spare time for a Sect Leader?" Jingyi smirked as he turned to addressed Jin Ling. He gave the you-started-it expression at Jing Ling's frown.
"I did not come here to play."
"Regardless of the purpose, Sect Leader Jin, you should have listened to Senior Wei to stay in Carp Tower as much as you can. Not to mention that you should have brought escorts with you instead of coming all the way here alone." Sizhui addressed his concern. "Have you forgotten Senior Wei's words?"
"W-well, I-I just..." Jin Ling stammered on his own words. How was he supposed to tell the real reason behind his coming to Cloud Recess when Jingyi was right there? "I-I was just..."
"You just decide to ignore it." Jingyi finished the sentence for him.
Here we go again, Sizhui sighed to himself. He couldn't understand why this two best friend of his weren't able to talk more than five minutes before the quarrel kicked in. He also didn't get why he always get caught up in being a referee every time that happened as well.
"Ok. Please you two. Noise is not allowed in Cloud Recess." Sizhui intervened by stepping in between them.
The two of them huffed and looked away. With another sigh, Sizhui addressed Jin Ling. "Sect Leader Jin, as you have known, Senior Wei left with Hanguang-Jun and hadn't returned yet. He also didn't send any message to us so I had no idea how their investigation was going. Zewu-Jun is the same. He also doesn't get any update on the situation."
Jin Ling clamped his mouth shut as he stared at Sizhui. Not that Sizhui was wrong. One of the reason he came was to see if there was any update on the demon boy. However, the main and most important reason was to meet Sizhui, to see with his own eyes that he was alright. Ever since he had heard of Wei Wuxian's dream, he couldn't take his worry off Sizhui. Actually, he was worried even way before that. It was since that time when Sizhui collapsed on his arms the day that mysterious mark appeared. He couldn't get his mind off it. He tried to do some research on the mark but he couldn't find any information at all.
The memory of that day brought another scene to his head. It was the scene when Sizhui was having a nightmare and he came to comfort him. He remembered it so well how he made that nightmare disappeared.
Jin Ling blushed at the thought of that. It reminded him of the time he had stolen a kiss from Sizhui while he was unconscious. He could never forget that sensation until now. As the image from that scene kept flashing before his eyes, he felt heat radiating throughout his body.
"Sect Leader Jin. Are you alright? Your face is so red. Did travelling exhaust you? I can arrange a room for-"
"No, no." Jin Ling cut Sizhui off with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine. I just...feel a little...hot." He hadn't meant to make the word hot sounded horny, but when it still sounded so as it escaped his mouth.
"Hot?" Jingyi asked incredulously. "The weather today almost freezes me to dead. And you said you are hot?"
"I-I...I am wearing more layers than you." Jin Ling tried to come up with an excuse no matter how lame it was. The covert kiss was known to no one but himself. He totally didn't want it exposed just yet. Especially not in front of Jingyi.
"Okay, okay. Let's stop fighting, ok? You are scaring the bunnies." Sizhui scolded them as one of the rabbits was trembling next to the ankle of his foot. It acted as if it was trying to hide from the loud voices above it. Sizhui bent down to pick up the frightened rabbit and held it up close to his eyes level. "It's okay. These two brothers mean no harm. They aren't fighting. This is just their ways of talking. Don't be scared, alright?" he soothed the rabbit and patted its back. The rabbit stopped trembling under the soft touch. As a thank you, the rabbit leaped forwards a little and its nose touched Sizhui's lightly.
"oh" Sizhui widened his eyes as he was startled by the rabbit's kiss.
"Hey!" Jingyi and Jin Ling screamed simultaneously as they sent bloodshot glares at the rabbit. Their loud voices almost made Sizhui dropped the bunny in surprise.
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The night was darker and colder than usual. The clouds were swallowing the whole moon and shielded all the stars, leaving not a track of shimmering lights. Inside a big room, the fire was put out to avoid any illumination to the interior. On an enormous, perfectly-crafted bed, a man with his back abutting the wall was holding himself up in a reclining position. His face was pale and so were his lips. He coughed occasionally and each time his chest contracted, he lay his hand atop his heart with a painful expression.
"Master" a boy's voice came from outside the door.
"Just report from there." The man commanded. His voice was weak and hoarse but the boy heard it clearly.
"The Gusu Lan's acting leader and his husband are out to investigate the soulless village." the boy spoke from behind closed doors.
"Lan Wangji dares to leave his Sect's matters unattended?"
"The real Gusu Sect leader is out of seclusion. He is handling the matters on his brother's absence."
"This wasn't a part of the plan." Frustration was embedded in the man's voice. "It has never occurred to me that Lan Xichen would be out of seclusion all of the sudden, giving Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian a chance to investigate this incident."
"But they won't be able to find any clue. Soulless village is just an illusion created to fool that young Lan. I have cleaned up everything Master. There is no need for you to worry. There are no evidences against you." The boy tried to console his master only to get his anger back.
"Foolish!" he yelled at the boy, causing his cough to act up again. The boy cringed at the shout but also worried at the sound of his master's cough. He was about to disobey the order to go and checked on him when the man continued as his cough subsided. "The illusion itself is the evidence. Lan Sizhui's softhearted nature had put him at a disadvantage. It unfledged his cultivation level to see through the illusion. But do you think Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are to fall for the same trick? Their cultivation are not to underestimate. And you think they are thick-headed enough to let things slide because they can't find any clue? It will be the evidence against me. They will know that I have plotted everything."
"Forgive this foolish servant, master." The boy apologized with his head lowered. After a brief silence, he asked. "What will you have me do master? Liquidate them?"
The man snickered. "You think you alone are a match for them when you can't even deal with that Lan Sizhui? You'll die a thousand times even before you can resurrect yourself back."
"I will die trying, master. If that is what you want." The boy said with his voice fearlessly firm, as though his life was worth nothing.
"No. Your worthless life is still of some use to me." The man said with not a slight of emotion in his voice. "You can only die when I tell you to. Don't forget. Each day that you are breathing means an accumulation on the debt you owe me."
"No, master. I never forget. Never have and never will." The boy held back tears at his master's minatory words. He wasn't scared of death. His tears weren't shed for his own life. They were shed for his heart. He knew his master had always thought very little of him. He wanted to cut off his adherence, to tell his feeling to stop getting so attached, but he can't. That was the curse of a demon. Once you had pledged your life to someone, you would never be able to change your alliance. Not even for a second. Not to mention that asides from the accord back then, he had harbored a personal feeling to add up to that unyielding condition. No wonder why his heart hurt so bad. He was the cause of his own pain. No one was to blame but himself.
The boy swallowed a lump in his throat and replied. "They are staying at the outskirt of Gusu, still asking around for the information on the soulless village."
"It won't be long till they find out." The man clicked his tongue, much to his chagrin, and continued. "Why do that ghost general Wen Ning had to appear back then? That should had been a perfect chance to shorten my plan." But then, at the drop of a hat, a sinister smile crept up his face as another direful idea just came to his mind. "But a chance is still a chance. Glad I have a backup plan." As he had done talking to himself, he turned his head to the door to address the person standing on the other side of it. "Heixin, how is your wound?"
The boy reflexively lifted his head at the mentioned of his name. It had been so long since his master called him by that. It was the name he bestowed on him that very day. The day his second life was born. "It heals since that day, master. We, demon, generate cells to heal our wound way quicker than human." The boy answered.
"Good. Because I need it today. I need my body to recover to its original state to perform the rituals."
Even without specifying, years of serving his master had earned the boy an understanding. "Are you wounded, master?"
The boy was surprised to hear this. His master had warned him not to come to his room and always talked behind closed door after the boy returned from the soulless village. He had no idea why but now he knew. So his master was trying to hide the fact that he was injured. But why?
Although he wanted to ask, he knew he would cross the line if he did. He should better knew his place to not upset his master any more than he had today.
"Enter with your eyes blindfolded." The man commanded.
The boy took out a strip of clothes from his pocket and covered his eyes, secured it with a tight nod behind his head. Then, he opened the door and stepped in.
Even with his eyes covered, walking inside the room was no difficult task for him. He had been in and out of this room as if it was his own. He remembered every nook and cranny. There was no obstacles for him as he was striding towards his usual spot. He walked towards the bed with ease as he remembered it so well. He came to stop as his knees touched the board.
As the boy stood still at his designated spot, he started peeling off layers of his upper robes, leaving them drape loosely around the waist. The bared upper part revealed his smooth white skin with no trace of the previous injury. Then, he reached out for a short sword from his waist. He unsheathed it and brought the sharp edge to the left side of his chest. He twisted it a little so that the pointed blade was horizontally directed to his flesh. With one swift and clean movement, the blade was inserted into his own heart.
The stab didn't pierce the organ but it was deep enough to cut the arteries and veins around it. Black liquid was oozing out from the opening wound and trickling down his white flesh. The man grabbed the boy by his lower back to bring him nearer as he leaned his face closer, laving his tongue up and down the stream of the flowing blood. He could feel strength returning to his body as the demon's blood was seeping into his vessels.
The boy didn't even budge but stayed lock in his position, letting his master having his fill for his blood had the power to heal wound and provided strength.
However, there was one thing that he couldn't get it off his mind. Who was it that his master was so eager to seek despite peril? Was it that name whom his master called every time they were in bed?
Testing his luck, he decided to take risk in asking that one question. "Please enlighten this servant master. Who is the ritual going to summon?"
"Lan Sizhui." The man curtly replied as he wiped clean of every blood drop from the boy's body.
