Yizhan/Wangxian Oneshots

a place just for us (wangxian) PT. 8

Ah Yuan had been practicing for an entire month and had reached the level of his Papa. Wei Ying had also been working his ass off, exhausting most of the energy he had. Sometimes he would take it too far just to train his son, and he would faint. At those times, Ah Yuan had to go get Lan Zhan as he was a little too small to pick him up.

After another long day of training, Ah Yuan stood on the bridge over a small river. It was well past his bedtime, but he just hadn't been able to sleep. 

Although Wangji hadn't been back to Cloud Recesses since they spoke to Lan Xichen, he still held up with most of the reasonable rules. He still made the kids go to bed at Hai hour. (9:00pm)

It was nearly midnight by the time Ah Yuan was standing at the bridge, pondering his skills. Lan Zhan stumbled upon his son, smiling at the boy. He had adopted a lot of his papa's traits, breaking so many of the Lan's rules. 

"Couldn't sleep?" Lan Zhan walked up beside him, staring at the starry night sky. 

Ah Yuan smiled, "Too restless."

"What are you thinking about? I can tell there's something on your mind," Lan Zhan asked. He was able to tell when something was bothering him. After all, he raised the boy.

"I've never questioned you and Papa keeping us inside the city because I've always known it was for the best," He paused for a second, looking at the stars again with a soft smile, "I just wonder. What the world is like."

Lan Zhan frowned. He knew that the boy would soon find out the outside world was not what it seemed. He would find that his fantasy was not a reality. Although, part of him already knew it wasn't real.

"Your Papa and I met in Cloud Recesses. He used to annoy me all the time," Lan Zhan smiled upon the memories of Wei Ying fooling around. The times he missed so dearly.

Ah Yuan listened attentively, knowing that Lan Wangji was never one to talk about his past. 

"Wei Ying lived in Lotus Pier, back when he was still considered part of the clan. He had returned from Cloud Recesses, and everything was fine until the corrupt leaders of the Wen Clan showed up," Lan Zhan paused, studying Ah Yuan's face. He didn't seem to be too upset about the fact that his ancestors were dishonest.

"They murdered almost everyone from the Jiang Clan, leaving Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli, and Wei Ying all alone as siblings. They had all managed to escape the town, but Wei Ying was found soon after giving his Golden Core away to Jiang Cheng. Wen Chao threw him into the Burial Mounds."

"Was that when Papa created the seal?" Ah Yuan asked, earning a slow nod from Wangji.

"He came back after three months. I tried to help him, but he refused to let anyone calm his spirit," Lan Zhan paused, looking from his son's face to the flowing water down below, "Then came the first fight at Nightless City. The first war when we found out about how powerful your Papa was."

Lan Zhan frowned, a sorrowful sparkle in his eyes, "The first time I was scared I'd lose him."

Ah Yuan listened as Lan Zhan talked about his past for hours. Eventually, he began to fall asleep to the soft sound of his father's voice. Lan Zhan caught him as he fell asleep, picking him up and bringing him back to the Branch. 

When he arrived in Ah Yuan and Jinghua's room, he laid the boy down on the bed and tucked him in. He smiled at the sleeping boy and placed a kiss on both Jinghua and Ah Yuan's foreheads. He closed the door gently, making his way to his and Wei Ying's room. He expected Wei Ying to be asleep but didn't expect to see him sitting upright in the bed, biting his nails out of nervousness. 

Lan Zhan sat down next to his husband, putting his hand on the boy's hand, "Wei Ying."

Wei Ying finally noticed his lover next to him, coming back to reality and being able to move his body. He noticed the small frown on Wangji's face, crawling into the older's arms. Lan Zhan sighed, stroking the boy's back and combing his fingers through his long black hair. 

"You're anxious."

Wei Ying nodded, "I'm worried about the kids. Lan Zhan, what happens if they-"

Lan Zhan hushed him with a small kiss on his lips, "I've been worried too. But remember, we've been through so much, and look where we are."

"I guess you're right. I just don't want them to mature too quickly. Their childhood isn't over yet and I worry that will be ruined if we end up meeting resistance from other clans."

"Well, then it's us against the whole world."

***

Jinghua woke up early in the morning, as she always did, and she put her boots on. Walking over to her dresser, she put on her over-robe, deciding she would go with a black look today. She had different colored robes, Light blue, Light Purple, and a mix of Black and Red. She sometimes wanted to match her Papa's style, so she would change into the black and red robes.

She grabbed her sword, Jiangxue, the Chinese word for "Snowfall." She had gotten to name her own sword ever since she first picked it up at ten years old. Wen Ning had made it for her, being trained in making swords. 

Every morning, she had gotten up to practice the move Wen Ning had taught her. She wanted to perfect it because there were some cracks in the move when she had done it. She was more than ready to fight an entire army, though.

Ah Yuan would walk rounds in the morning along with Lan Zhan, saying high to the citizens around the city. He would say his greetings to the young children running around with their wooden swords, smiling upon the memory of him doing that as well.

After he was done with rounds, he would go to practice his flute patterns. He had slowly been learning how to summon and control evil spirits, knowing the dangers of it, but not being scared because his Papa was by his side. Wei Ying understood the dangers as well, but was assured that he would be fine.

Lan Zhan had been playing the Song of Clarity for the boy every day, sometimes two times if he had trained too hard. Ah Yuan was committed to keeping his soul in check, and remaining calm and rational. He had learned ways to calm himself from Lan Wangji, and had learned what to do if he played a wrong note from Wei Ying. 

The two kids were becoming stronger every day, perhaps the strongest disciples in the entirety of the cultivation world.

***

On the day of the leave, the entire city gathered in front of the Branch. Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and their kids stood in front of the crowd, hearing the cheers and whoops from their audience.

Wei Ying began to speak, "Today, we, the Wangxian clan, will leave for the reveal of our city. Our guard will be protecting the outskirts and the insides of the city, in case of resistance. We have sent a letter to all clan leaders, asking them to meet outside of Qinghe a couple of days after our departure. We will not fail in keeping this city safe, I promise you."

The crowd cheered and made way for the family to leave. Before they left, Wei Ying turned to Wen Ning and Wen Qing who would be staying behind.

"If all goes wrong, put the city on lockdown. You know how," Wei Ying said, holding Wen Ning's shoulders. They had created a failsafe in case of very dire measures. If one of them died, the city would go into lockdown. Wen Ning had attached a necklace to every member of the family, and it was linked to their soul. If one of them lost their lives, he would know.

Wei Ying came back to the group and took a deep breath. The anxiety he was experiencing was the worst he had ever felt. But, the excitement took away some of that. If they were accepted, they could finally stop hiding.

They began to walk.

Their walk to freedom.

Or perhaps doom.

Not a single one of them knew, but they were willing to take the chances.

A/N: Next chapter I promise, things start happening lmao. Get your tissues ready (probably, I'm not quite sure yet)