Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

The Favour Of Heaven Part 1

It is cool at twilight when Lan Zhan finds XiChen taking a stroll. The Cloud Recesses covers such a large area that if it wasn't for the hundreds of disciples recruited every year, one could easily spend days without meeting another person. The imminent curfew has most students indoors ready to retire for the night.

XiChen smiles when he sees his baby brother. "It has been far too long since we've taken a turn together," he welcomes him.

"Mn."

The amicable silence that lingers between them is only punctuated by singing cicadas and the odd early owl. Up on the mountainside, tranquility rests upon the whispering breeze and the hush of bamboo trees swaying in the night.

Lan Zhan can still sense his brother's mood; XiChen is tense despite where they are and what they are doing. If he's walking around at this hour, he must be trying to arrive at a solution for a complex problem that is not easily solvable. His shoulders are stiff and his gait a little heavier - that means he has been sitting for longer than necessary today.

"What troubles Xiongzhang?" Lan Zhan murmurs.

He cannot sense anyone nearby but it's always good to be cautious so they are not overheard by unfriendly ears.

"Oh, the usual." XiChen tries to laugh it off.

"Xiongzhang does not need to protect this one. It would be an honour to serve, even if it is only to lighten the burden that rests on your shoulders."

XiChen pauses, studying him. "WangJi...A-Zhan, thank you. Even the expression of such a wish is a balm to my mind. The always present wish to save you from unpleasant matters is what stays my lips, but as you have offered, I should take advantage of fresh eyes and a logical mindset." They walk deeper into the bamboo forest towards the clearing. "Nie MingJue has sent reports of the Wens infiltrating their border and ransacking farmlands. No survivors. He thinks they are gathering forces and supplies."

"To what end?"

"What do tyrants always want? The subjugation of those they see beneath them, and in Wen Ruohan's case, that means all sects big and small. If anyone tries to stand in his way, they shall be swept away in the tide of his ambitions. I fear war is on the horizon."

That is shocking news.

Lan Zhan spends his days studying, training and practicing his musical cultivation, nights are spent hunting and serving those local to the GusuLan clan. He has heard no word of such conflict. Not for the first time, he is upset with his brother for trying to shelter him from an ugly reality.

In the clearing, they both look up towards the moon, her bright glow healing the earth from the harshness of the sun.

"Xiongzhang! What is that?" Lan Zhan says suddenly, grabbing his arm.

They both concentrate on the dark shadow that has marred the beauty of stars, blotting them out as it increases in size. Lan Zhan has a bad feeling about this.

"It is a bird- no, maybe a bat?" XiChen tries to guess but Lan Zhan doesn't answer.

Bichen is ready in his right hand, and he's tense watching the shape getting bigger.

"It's not flying-"

"No," XiChen agrees grimly, "It's plummeting!" He summons Shuoyue, his sword, and mounts it. Gracefully, he flies up to meet whatever was falling out of the sky.

Lan Zhan briefly wonders what he's seen that made him take flight, and he too, joins his brother. But as they get closer, he realises that XiChen was right to ascend; this is no bird but a woman, and she's falling after having lost consciousness. He braces XiChen under the impact of her weight hurtling at them at a super speed and they fly back down to the ground. While XiChen takes off his outer robe to cover her, Lan Zhan intercepts her sword.