𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓━━━J. Cheng

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

016-Cloud Recesses, II

"Wangji-xiong!" [First Name] woke up from her forced sleep and the moment she gained consciousness, her first thoughts were about Lan Wangji and Cloud Recesses. Her eyes were wide open as she frantically looked around. She wanted to stand up but she couldn't move her legs at all, not to mention the excruciating pain in her back.

She had just woken up, she was much more sensitive than usual. In the end, with all the pain and anxiety, she coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Hearing all the noise, Lan Wangji who was half-asleep beside her opened his eyes and looked, the sight of [First Name] exhaling blood and being covered in a thin layer of sweat stunned him. He immediately placed a hand behind her but Lan Wangji carefully avoided the wound on her back and he started patting her for comfort.

"... Mn." he silently made her aware of his presence.

The expression that twisted in pain earlier slowly turned calmer in ease, the warmth of his hand behind her was appeasing the pain and the anxiety from the thought of losing her older cousin earlier.

Only when her breathing became even and the blood was wiped from her lips did [First Name] finally look at him. Her lashes were trembling as she slowly asked him with worry, "A-Ah... Wangji-xiong, the Cloud Recesses..." She had already noticed earlier that except for the stained robes and his messy appearance, there didn't seem to be much of injuries on him. So [First Name] was relieved and asked for the condition of the recesses first.

"Burnt down. We're in the Ancestral Hall, this is one of the buildings that survived the fire."

With a blank expression, she looked around once more. She had finally noticed that this was the largest hall in the Cloud Recesses. There were a lot of injured disciples and cultivators alike, taking up most of the space in the place. Both of them were only occupying a small space in the corner but there was still an empty space around them. No wonder why she didn't wake up earlier, except for the groans of pain and whispers of anxiety, anger, and worry, the hall was silent.

[First Name] understood the situation and gave a nod while turning to him again, "The sect leader, father, Xichen-xiong, where are they? Are they all fine?" By the time she had finished, she had noticed the hesitation in his eyes. She couldn't help but feel more anxious as she held his sleeves tighter and tugged on it.

Finally, Lan Wangji lowered his head with a solemn expression and answered, "... Father is heavily wounded, uncle too but he's in a much better condition than my father. He's taking control right now. We had brother run away with the few important books and documents, he is still missing as of right now."

After hearing what he said, [First Name] couldn't help but abruptly try to stand up. However, she still had the wound on her leg and her sleeves were also pulled by Lan Wangji causing her to fall back to her original position. She couldn't help but hiss in pain, her back really felt painful and no words could really describe the pain...

"Don't move, you're still injured."

She glanced at him, looking at him from head to toe. She raised a brow as she looked back at him, "Your clothes are stained with blood too, Wangji-xiong, is your leg injured?" He immediately placed a hand on the bloodied part of the robe. Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes as he clenched his hand, "... It's fine."

[First Name] could only shake her head, scooting closer to him. At this point, she had already calmed herself and decided to pay more attention to him. "Please don't lie or I'll get angry. Please let me see so I can tend to it." As soon as she finished, [First Name] didn't give him any seconds to respond and suddenly grabbed his closed hand. Lan Wangji tried to pull his hand back but she didn't budge at all. He could only lift his head and tell her with an obvious frown, "You're injured too, don't move too much."

But she shook her head, "I'm injured but it's not like I'm crippled."

"I've already tended to it myself."

After a moment of silence and intense staring, [First Name] finally gave up and exhaled in defeat. "... Alright, if you insist then I won't force you. What is father doing right now?" she loosened her hold of his hand but she didn't let go. In this cold and crowded hall, covered in blood and wounds, the warmth in his hands was simply comforting.

"Your hand... Is so warm... And comfortable..."

"H-Hey, [First Name], let me go. Wei Wuxian, don't just laugh!"

"But it's warm... Wanyin..."

For a moment, [First Name] fell into a trance as unfamiliar memories flashed through her mind. 'Huh? When did that...' Truly unfamiliar. After a year of spending time with him, both of them had gotten so close to each other that they were already calling each other so much more casually than a year ago. She had already called him by his name and Jiang Cheng felt more open when talking to her.

Therefore, [First Name] calling him 'Wanyin' was not that unusual. But those memories... She can't really remember it. Just when did that happen? A comfortable warm feeling arose from her chest and once again, she tightened her hold of Lan Wangji's hand.

During that moment, Lan Wangji seemed to have been saying something. But seeing her in a daze, clearly not listening to him, he stopped talking and called out to her first. Finally, she snapped out of her thoughts, a bit flustered as she looked at him with a warm face. "A-Ah. What were you saying, Wangji-xiong?"

Lan Wangji looked at her indifferently. He didn't know what she was thinking and he didn't really bother to guess. He briefly closed his eyes before opening them again, solemnly looking at her. "He's checking the number of cultivators that survived from our sect. Most of us were heavily wounded."

Ah right, she was asking what was her father doing.

She cleared her throat and replied with an awkward tone, "I see..."

Silence fell upon them. They were just sitting next to each other. [First Name] had already let go of his hand and he hid his hands inside his long, wide sleeves. [First Name] stared blankly at the open night sky, she fell into a daze once again. Lan Wangji didn't say anything this time and simply rested. Time slowly moved in their silence and before she knew it, her eyelids felt heavy and she finally felt tired.

Lan Wangji opened his eyes and looked at her. Suddenly, he straightened out his back and patted his lap, "Rest if you're tired. I'll wake you up if something happens."

[First Name] watched his every movement silently. And then, without any warning, she fell straight to his lap while laughing softly. "I had a nightmare earlier so I couldn't sleep well." she started. She moved a bit for a more comfortable position and stopped when she was finally satisfied.

Once more, she chuckled. Her cousin was so strict and stiff but she really can be soft and passive sometimes.

"Someone important to me was crying and suffering in front of me. But in that dream, I couldn't move an inch so all I could do was watch him... It was so painful, I'm scared of dreaming of that again." His hand went up and down reluctantly. Only after hearing what she said did he finally place his hand on her head, gently caressing her hair. He didn't say anything, nor made any sounds but his small and delicate movements were enough for her to be comforted.

Her lips curled and she closed her eyes peacefully, "... Never mind... I'll take a nap, please wake me up in an hour..."

At the same time, Lan Wangji also closed his eyes slowly, and told her with his soft and mild voice "Mn. Rest well."

still no interactions between [First Name] and Jiang Cheng next chapter :depression:
but hey, more wangji interaction :D

https://discord.gg/ezZyKXNHEz
everyone's free to talk about whatever they want on the server.
... tbh, the server is kinda random but everyone can have fun here lmao (we are friendly, I promise)

check the comment here for the link, if you wanna join :D

Published: March 4, 2022