Way too untamed, way too wild

Milk

Lan Wangji slept like a dead the whole night after meeting the boy in the Burial Mounds. He could not help it, he was exhausted and he dearly lacked sleep. In the morning, the first thing which came to mind was wondering how the boy was faring for himself now and if the food had been to his liking. He did not know if the boy came to the town during the night or not and when he went to the street market, he did not hear any rumours about the cloud of resentment appearing, so he probably did not come.

As promised, he bought some more food, once again a whole variety, and went back to the Burial Mounds that afternoon. He was hoping that he would be able to progress more with the boy today and start to actually earn his trust. He knew it was still too soon for him to hope that he would be willing to come with him if he asked right now. He needed just a little bit more patience.

When he arrived to the small pitch black pond, he did the same as yesterday; he spread the food on a piece of cloth and then stepped away, sat down and started playing his guqin. It actually surprised him when he could sense the boy's presence not even a few minutes later. It seemed like he must have been already waiting for him.

Lan Wangji smiled to himself, there was a real progress right there, the boy trusted him enough that he came to meet him again because he had promised to come back yesterday. He looked towards where the cloud of resentment was gathering and he could see that the boy was already standing in a plain sight with the resentment lazily swirling around his ankles and with his hands once again protectively crossed in front of his chest.

But there was no wariness in his eyes today, if anything, his whole body betrayed just how surprised and disbelieving he was at the moment. Lan Wangji stopped playing and put his guqin away. He did not stand up, not wanting to give the boy any pretext to feel ill at ease, he only gestured towards the prepared feast.

"Food. For you, like I promised."

The boy now looked away at the food for much longer then yesterday and Lan Wangji was hoping he would come pick it up and perhaps be willing to share a meal with him. He opened his mouth again and was disappointed when the sudden movement made the boy look back at him with suspicion. Well, that was probably that, he would not be able to progress any further, not when the boy was now looking at him in this way.

He got up, very slowly and went to pick up his sword. With his weapon in his hand, he looked at the boy who had been intently observing him all this time and promised: "I will bring more tomorrow morning." To speed things up, he decided he would try to lure the boy out twice tomorrow.

The boy gave no reaction aside for a slight relaxing of his shoulders. Lan Wangji took it that he was agreeing this way to meet him again and was not against the idea of him coming in the morning. He smiled a bit and walked away, getting on his sword only when he was at a reasonable distance. He had to fight his urge to fly back and see what the boy was doing, if he was eating the food there of it he had taken it to where he lived. But he resisted, if the boy saw him, he would have surely lost the fragile blooming trust he was trying to establish with him.

In the next couple of days, they fell into a kind of routine. Lan Wangji would come two times a day, in the morning and in the evening and the boy would already be waiting for him at the usual place. It brought not a small amount of satisfaction to the Second Jade to see that he was standing a little closer to him every day and that the amount of resentment around him was decreasing. He was also not looking at him with suspicion anymore, nor did he flinch every time Lan Wangji reached out for his sword. It almost seemed like he was eager to see him, or to get the food, the Second Jade could not tell which one was the case.

On the noon of the fourth day, just when he was out in the street market buying some more food, one of the town's people approached him, her head lowered.

"Esteemed Hanguang-Jun," she started in a small voice, visibly bothered and perhaps even afraid to talk to him. He gestured to her to continue. Somewhat encouraged, she took a deep breath. "I just wanted to ask how your night hunt if progressing..." She trailed off only to look around at the crowd which had already gathered around them and then informed him bluntly: "We saw the creature in town again, just last night."

Lan Wangji was taken aback, he had thought that the boy was not coming to the town to steal anymore. But perhaps he had been mistaken when he had though that he was bringing him enough food. Or it could be that he needed also something else which Lan Wangji had not provided. No matter the reason, he would have to ask him as soon as possible.

The woman cleared her throat uncomfortably and he remembered that she was still waiting for his reaction. A little bit embarrassed that he had not thought about reassuring the terrified people, he did so now: "It will take a couple days still. The creature is not dangerous; it will not attack you."

The woman nodded, visibly not satisfied with his answer but accepting it all the same. The same could not have been said for the rest of the crown which started murmuring and slowly dispersing. He could only hear some of the comments but it was largely enough to understand the mood the town was now in:

"Sure, it does not attack, but it scares the animals and the children..."

"But what if it did? What about the children? Would they be safe?"

"Are the rumours about Hanguang-Jun perhaps exaggerated? Is he really the strongest among the cultivators? The others then must be outright useless..."

"Shh, be quiet, he will hear you!"

Lan Wangji did not get bothered by their words, they did not know that there had actually not been any resentful creature lurking around, only a half-starved boy who could manipulate resentful energy. It came to the same in the end however, he had to discourage the boy from going into the town at night shrouded in resentment.

In the afternoon of the same day, he took the food he had prepared, a bigger amount than previously, just in case it had not been enough and that was why the boy continued his stealing, and headed to the Burial Mounds.

The boy was already waiting for him, just like this morning, eagerly coming up towards him and reaching his hands for the packed food. Lan Wangji gave him the package and when the boy was about to leave again, he stopped him: "Do you need anything else? I know you are still going to the town during the night. Is there something missing? I can get it for you, you do not have to steal."

For a while, the boy only stared at him and Lan Wangji was afraid that he had overstepped the fragile bounds they had come to establish these past few days.

Then the boy shocked him speechless when he spoke for the first time, his voice pleasant to the ear and oh so youthful: "Milk."

Lan Wangji was now confused, he did not know if he had heard it correctly. Why would the boy need milk? Did he perhaps mean something else and only used incorrect name? Milk was only for babies, it usually made adults sick to their stomachs. And the boy was surely not a baby anymore.

Just in case he had really overheard, he asked to confirm: "Milk?"

The only reply was a nod of the boy's head and a look of urgency in his eyes. Lan Wangji guessed that it could not hurt to get the boy some milk if he was apparently this desperate to have it, who knew why.

He gave his own nod and rushed to reply: "I understand. Please wait here, I will go fetch some."

The next second, he got literally blinded by the smile the boy gave him. He could not believe he was seeing this. It was the first time the boy really accepted him and even asked something from him. It was clear now. The trust he had been working on building up this whole time was finally there. He did not want to disappoint it so he immediately mounted his sword and flew to the town to buy the requested drink.