The Vicissitudes of Life - XiYao [EN]

5 | Turmoil of emotion

During the night, Meng Yao developed a fever. When Lan Xichen woke to his heavy, ragged breathing, he had his eyes open, but they were glossy, a thin layer of sweat covering the entirety of his body. He transferred more Qi to him and as Meng Yao began shaking, he got his softest fur and the thick quilt to shield him from the coolness of the room. Then he placed more wood in the fireplace, before he took his place by Meng Yao's side.

The smell of burned flesh was still lingering heavy in the air, suddenly reminding Xichen of the flames that had destroyed Cloud Recess and taken the countless lives of his Clan members, his friends, his family.

If Meng Yao hadn't saved him back then, leading him away from the ocean of flames, he certainly would've died. Now their roles were reversed, his friend in dire need of help while Lan Xichen felt... utterly lost.

He'd left everything behind in an attempt to center himself. His sword, Liebing, even his guquin. Now he would've felt calmer with his sword sitting next to him. There was no threat, now that the Wen Clan had been wiped out, and still... someone or something had caused these extensive injuries on Meng Yao's body.

How? Meng Yao was supposed to be held by the Nie Clan until the hearing for his crimes was to be held in spring. When had the injuries been inflicted? Some of them were too old to stem from his escape. He had escaped, right? Lan Xichen highly doubted that the Nie Clan, or the other Clans, had decided to release him before the sentencing took place. What exactly had happened?

If Meng Yao was on the run, were there people going after him? Or maybe the conference had been held earlier? But then Wangji surely would've informed Xichen... or didn't he because he told him to not contact him? The thing that lay heaviest on his mind, was the indescribable state of Meng Yao's body.
Surely it had been done by a soulless creature. A death corpse? His thoughts scattered as sleep slowly took him into her arms.

He fell into a dreamless slumber.

❅

The second time he woke, it was to Meng Yao's voice.

"Gege... "

And again, "Gege..."

"... Xichen."

Lan Xichen sat up. The soft glow of the fire place was shining onto Meng Yao's face, highlighting fresh tears. Something heavy tucked at Xichen's heartstrings.

"I'm here", he placed a hand on his forehead and Meng Yao's eyes fluttered open, this time in a haze. There was a softness, a child-like vulnerability to his features. And in a sudden turmoil of emotion, Lan Xichen recognized, that not only had he lost one, but two sworn brothers during the war.

"How do you feel?"

"I... I'm cold", his voice was coarse and slurred due to the fever. Xichen tucked the bedsheets tighter around Meng Yao's body.

"I'll make it better." The process of transferring Qi again, with little to no rest, was painful. It wasn't a sharp pain, rather a dull one that felt like something was sucking the life out of him. Had it felt similar when Meng Yao's golden core had been crushed?

The slow trickle of his Qi became even weaker but somehow Xichen willed his body, to still give a little more. Then the golden flow of energy came to a halt.

"Thank you."

The words had barely been a whisper. Meng Yao had used his last bit of energy to speak them, and somehow that thought hurt even more than the Qi-transfer.

The man beneath his hands shuddered, then lay incredibly still. Xichen couldn't tell if he had passed out again or if he was just sleeping.