Way too untamed, way too wild

Baby time

After Wei Ying and all the children finished eating their fill, all too soon for Lan Wangji's comfort, Wen Ning came out of the cave with A-Yuan in his arms. He was holding the bottle of milk which the Second Jade had brought today and a small, surprisingly clean, piece of cloth, one of those the Second Jade had been bringing the food in. Lan Wangji wondered what was wrong, surely the baby already got to eat as well, or not?

Wei Ying shot up onto his feet and run towards Wen Ning who smiled at him indulgingly. Without any communication happening between them, A-Yuan was passed to Wen Ying who cradled him against his chest gently, supporting the baby's head and body properly. He looked like he knew what he was doing, probably due to long months of practice.

Once Wei Ying was holding securely both the baby and its breakfast, he turned around and carefully walked back to Lan Wangji. The Second Jade was relieved, he had thought that the wild and a bit too energetic boy would not be patient enough to handle a baby. It was good to be proven wrong. Then again, he should probably not be too surprised, it was clear that with Wei Ying, anything and everything was possible and Lan Wangji had to prepare himself even for the impossible.

When A-Yuan started fussing a bit, Wei Ying cradled the baby closer to his chest and was rocking him gently while sitting down opposite to Lan Wangji again. The Second Jade was confused as to what the boy was about to do.

Not for long however. Wei Ying positioned the baby onto his lap so it would be comfortable and he had his hands free. He then opened the bottle of milk and delicately put one corner of the cloth inside, letting it soak the white liquid. Once he was satisfied, he put the corner into the crying baby's mouth and A-Yuan immediately stopped, sucking hungrily at it.

At last, Lan Wangji understood. It must have been this way that they were feeding A-Yuan the whole time. He knew close to nothing about babies, but it was clear even to him that if they would try to pour the milk directly into the child's mouth, the baby would not have been able to drink it and a large portion of it would have been wasted. A-Yuan was still too small for that. It was an ingenuous way of coping with the situation and he was sure that Wei Ying had something to do with it, it would be just like him to have an idea such as this.

Wei Ying watched A-Yuan suck at the cloth for another second. Then he lifted his head and looked at Lan Wangji, a sweet smile on his lips: "Is he not precious, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Wangji could not find any words to properly describe just how wholeheartedly he agreed with the boy. Instead, he only managed a short and fond "Mn" as a reply. Wei Ying did not seem bothered by his lack of a reaction and beamed at him. A second later, he had to lower his eyes again to A-Yuan as the baby was now fussing again, the milk all but gone. Wei Ying repeated the procedure of getting more milk and the baby continued to feed happily.

Suddenly, Lan Wangji got curious if the boy had been taking care of any other babies in the past, it really looked like he knew what he was doing. The Second Jade was not sure that he could have acquired such expertise in just a short time Wen Qing and Wen Ning were here.

A-Yuan was now sated and his eyes were closing again when Wei Ying put him onto his shoulder and started to pat is back gently. The sight was melting Lan Wangji's heart. He was sure that if the cultivation world saw it, they would not be able to do anything else but to proclaim that Wei Ying, although a demonic cultivator, was harmless. Perhaps it could be a way to convince everyone? He would have to remember for future references.

He could not contain himself anymore, his curiosity getting the best of him, and he opened his mouth to ask how many babies Wei Ying had already rescued from certain death. The boy saw that he was about to speak and stopped patting A-Yuan's back long enough to put his finger to his lips, clearly signalling that now was not the time to talk, he probably did not want the baby to wake up.

Wei Ying got up and walked towards the cave entrance. Lan Wangji hesitated only for a brief moment and then he followed.

When he stepped inside, he was taken aback. The inside of the cave was completely dark; although the Burial Mounds were not too bright either, his eyes still would have to take a while to get accustomed to the darkness.

He took a step to the side and his body stopped blocking the entrance, some more light got inside and he could finally tell that Wen Ning and Wen Qing were scrunched down on one side of the cave going through something that looked like medical supplies. They lifted their head when he entered and were now looking at him, their pale faces in a stark contrast to the darkness. Lan Wangji was getting somewhat uncomfortable under their gazes, as if he had just intruded in their personal space.

Which, he realized the next moment, he probably indeed did. While the rest of the children were sleeping in the larger cave, he did not see Wen Qing nor Wei Ying going there last evening. And seeing how there was a makeshift crib which he had just noticed near the wall on the other side of the cave, she was probably keeping an eye on the baby. It was not clear where exactly Wei Ying slept, but he had no way of knowing right now so he let it go, he would ask at a later date.

He watched how Wei Ying, whose black clothes were mixing with the darkness, making it nearly impossible to be seen be it not for his hands and face, put A-Yuan into the crib. The boy straightened and gestured to Lan Wangji to come closer.

The Second Jade's eyes finally got used to the lack of light and he made his way towards the crib. His eyes were immediately drawn towards the small pale face laying inside. The baby looked peaceful while asleep and Lan Wangji could not help himself but to feel emotional at the endearing sight. In this place of death and darkness, A-Yuan and of course the other children as well, seemed like the only rays of light.

Wei Ying stood above the crib for a while longer with a fond expression, Lan Wangji following his example. The Second Jade was taking in the sight but he could not not notice that even though the crib looked clean and well taken care off, it was in reality very old, almost falling apart actually. At once, he knew his suspicion about Wei Ying taking care of babies even before A-Yuan came had been spot on.