Way too untamed, way too wild

Rebuilding the lost trust

Lan Wangji had once again trouble falling asleep in the evening, it was almost becoming a norm for him by now. The last days, he had worried too much about how he should go about earning Wei Ying's trust, today, he was thinking hard where exactly he had made a mistake and how he was supposed to fix it.

He had to wonder what other people the boy had been talking about. Had there been someone else before him who came to the Burial Mounds and tried to hurt the children and Wen Qing and Wen Ning? It must have been surely cultivators since Wei Ying was talking as if he was accusing him of being the same as those other people. Who could it have been? Had he been talking about the Yunmeng Jiang sect disciples? Or had there been someone bothering the inhabitants of the Burial Mounds even before them?

It remained shrouded in the same mystery as the rest of Wei Ying's past. Wen Qing only told him very little, but Lan Wangji believed that even she did not know anything more; as she had said, he would have to ask the boy himself. If he would be amendable about talking to him ever again.

Lan Wangji's heart started hurting again when he remembered just how betrayed Wei Ying's expression had been and how sad his voice had become when he had thought that Lan Wangji had just been playing with him.

He was sorry he had not managed to explain better. Now he would have to try from the very beginning, if Wei Ying would let him of course. He could not just walk back to the settlement in the Burial Mounds, We Ying would then certainly believe the worse and would probably try to protect the children, attacking Lan Wangji using resentful energy.

No, he could not allow that! Wen Qing had told him that using resentful energy was dangerous for Wei Ying and was taking its toll. Although she did not detail what exactly the consequences were, Lan Wangji was sure they were not pleasant nor healthy. It was more likely that the boy was in a life threatening danger because of the strain of keeping the other children safe.

It was getting close to midnight when Lan Wangji finally felt sleep coming to him. He closed his eyes with an audible sigh and tried to rest. He would have to get up early tomorrow to go shopping around the town.

He had already decided to buy more food, as much as he would be able to carry, and some blankets and perhaps even children's clothing. And of course medical herbs for Wei Ying's injury and for any other illness or sickness the children may suffer. There was so much which the inhabitants of the Burial Mounds dearly needed in order to survive. He was not sure his money pouch was containing the sufficient amount of money, but he would give every single silver stone if it could help.

He opened his eyes, blinking confusedly into the bright daylight coming in through the window. It was already morning. He felt like slept only for a minute, he was still exhausted. His tiredness disappeared as if by magic the moment he remembered what had happened yesterday and what he had to do now.

He quickly slipped into his clothing and headed out to the market. The stalls were only just opening and getting their merchandise out on the display. Lan Wangji was however not deterred, he wanted to go back to the Burial Mounds as soon as possible. He was not sure the boy would actually be waiting for him there, but if Wei Ying decided to still trust him and come to the meeting place, he had to be there. If the boy would not come, Lan Wangji would wait for him, even if it should take several days.

Then he realized he could not do that. If Wei Ying would decide he did not trust him anymore, perhaps he would at least come that way when going to the town. Lan Wangji had to be gone by that time. He would just leave the food and other necessities he would be able to procure near the pond. The children needed them regardless of the fact if Wei Ying trusted him or not.

After almost an hour, he was only able to get the food, some sweets and five blankets. The merchants in the town were not prepared for such a high demand and did not have enough goods with them. They promised however to prepare more for the afternoon. Lan Wangji had to contend himself with this, it was high time he headed to the Burial Mounds.

He landed a distance away from his and Wei Ying's usual meeting place and went the rest of the way on foot, he did not want to arise any more suspicion should the boy already be waiting for him. When he arrived to the pitch black pond, there was no one there. His heart filled with sadness but he was determined to not give up this soon, perhaps Wei Ying liked to sleep in and would only show up later.

He prepared his peace offerings just as he had done with the food the first days he knew the boy. Afterwards, he sat down with his guqin on his lap and started playing. Nothing was happening for a long while and he was starting to lose hope. Even during his first day of doing this, Wei Ying had showed up earlier than this. And it would soon be time for him to go pick up the rest of his commissions.

He reasoned with himself that he would wait for another hour and then go back to the town, grab the merchandise and return. He was praying that Wei Ying would actually show up and would be willing to open up to him and trust him once more. He already had his explanation prepared, word for word, he had even written it down this morning and memorised it.

He was ready to put his guqin away and go back to Yiling, when he felt a change in atmosphere. It was very subtle and he barely noticed it at first. However, it had become more pronounced in only a few minutes. It felt like the air around him was clearing up and the resentful energy was becoming less agitated. It only took him a second to realize that there was only one person who could do this. Wei Ying must have been approaching.

Soon enough, Lan Wangji could see the boy coming down the rocky path. Wei Ying was walking quickly, not sneaking around, which the Second Jade decided to take as a good sign that the other was not afraid of him. He was also not looking too angry, which actually surprised Lan Wangji; if he did not know any better, he would say that the boy's expression seemed apologetic. That was surely impossible after how enraged and hurt he had been when they had seen each other last time.

Lan Wangji continued to play and waited for Wei Ying to come closer on his own terms. He was trying to look as non-threatening as he possibly could.

The boy spotted him and his expression became even more sorry, or so it seemed. He quickened his pace and then he was already standing in front of Lan Wangji, looking at him with something akin to bewilderment in his eyes. The Second Jade made no move, although he wanted to apologize to the other as soon as possible; he was waiting to see what would the boy do.

His mouth almost opened in surprise when Wei Ying sat down with his legs crossed and his back perfectly straight in front of him, just a few feet away. The he scratched the back of his neck, suddenly looking very bothered and nervous.

Lan Wangji opened his mouth to speak this time, to tell the boy that he was sorry for yesterday. But he never got the chance as Wei Ying spoke first, apologetically: "Lan Zhan, I am sorry for before. I overreacted. Wen Qing explained to me afterwards what you had been talking about. I have assumed something different and I had almost attacked you. I should have listened to you properly; you have been nothing but good to us."

Lan Wangji could not believe his ears. It could not be this easy to get Wei Ying to trust him again, now could it?