Work Text:
仙緣/Xiān Yuán: roughly translated as Immortal's Fate
Prompt: Early Mornings/Late Evenings
The adults had a story that they would love to tell their children every time they went to bed. A story that originated from the ancient past. The story was about a cursed God and his human lover. Their love touched heaven and earth as they vowed to forever stay together, even death couldn’t part them. They promised to continue looking for the other, days and nights, until they finally found each other again in another lifetime.
The story began a long time ago, so long that no one was able to remember. At the distant land to the south, where the weather was pleasant and warm all year around. There was a kingdom that surrounded by lakes and ponds. Purple lotus was the flower that represented their kingdom. The king Jiang FengMian was a man of extreme kindness, his benevolence was known throughout the entire land. Under his rule, every citizen were granted a happy and fulfilled life. The queen was quite the opposite. She was cold and strict, but her love for her family and her children was beyond compare. The king and queen had together two children: a beautiful princess that took after her father, and a young prince took after his mother. The princess, once she came of age, was promised to a prince of the neighboring country. The prince was also coming of age soon, so the queen was in a rush trying to find a suitor for her beloved son.
The prince Jiang Cheng however, wasn’t that interested in getting married. He preferred to go hunting with his adoptive brother and his attendants rather than to sit down and see which girls should be the next queen of the kingdom, and that worried the queen to no end.
“A-Cheng is still young, let him enjoy his youth a bit more.” The king often comforted his queen, but she would often rolled her eyes and walked away.
He was turning twenty, a ripe age of getting married, a lot of nearby princesses and royal maidens would love to enter his eyes. And yet, the prince himself had never fallen in love nor expressed any interest. The queen even included on the list with fair royal lads and princes, but the prince didn’t pay them any attention.
The prince himself, didn’t feel like falling in love yet. Only because of all the people that his mother introduced to him, none caught his eye. He wasn’t picky, but his brother told him he was. He shouted at the other man who was laughing at his misery. He just wanted to take it slow. If he had to spend his entire life with one person, he wanted it to be the right one.
Then one day, he came across a person, a person more beautiful than a flower, more elegant than the golden sun above, a person that descended from heaven. And for the first time in his twenty years, he felt what it was like to fall in love. It was his fated partner, even though it wasn’t someone that he could easily touch and be with.
It was one of those usual hunting trips outside the palace with his brother and attendants. They often rode on their horses, and competed against each other on who could hunt the most. Whoever lost, would have to treat everyone to a meal.
For Jiang Cheng, he was never the person that ended up last, but he was never the first either. When it came to hunting, his adoptive brother was on another level. He had never gotten a chance to beat him, not even one! So he was always in a rush of proving himself.
The hunting usually started right after they arrived at their destination. Each person would enter the forest at their chosen spots, and each had four hours to kill as much as they could. Jiang Cheng was the first to enter the forest, any seconds counted.
He climbed down on his horse, taking in the scenery before him. He kneeled down on the ground, trying to see if there was any visible footprints. To his luck, there was a set of fresh footprints, probably from a deer. He followed the footprints, through the layers of thick leaves and trees, to finally arrive at a river. The water was pure and crystal clear. From where he stood, the reflection of leaves and branches vividly appeared on the surface of the water. Rays of sunlight shone through the cracks between layers of leaves, lit up the river in golden hue. It was magnificent.
Then suddenly the sound of footsteps quickly approached from near him, his reflexes kicked in. Jiang Cheng found himself quickly hiding behind a nearby tree.
From the corner of his eyes, a white deer appeared. It was elegant, beautiful, like a creature made in heaven. He had never seen a white deer like this before. He only heard about them in legends. Thinking to himself, even if he didn’t catch as many prey today, just shooting down this one deer, it would guarantee his victory over his brother. No one had ever seen a white deer, he believed this would be a good gift for his parents. Reaching out for the bow, he set the arrow on his fingers and drew it.
The string stretched, letting out a small sound, but it wasn’t loud enough to alarm the creature. The deer was carefree, strolling along the river bank, lowering its head to take a drink. The light around it danced to an inaudible melody. A ray of sunlight shone on its antlers as a couple of birds landed on its head, gazing gently at each other. And then Jiang Cheng found himself dropped his weapon. What was he thinking, he couldn’t possibly kill such peaceful creature just because he wanted to prove his worth. A shameful feeling washed across his heart, and he was beyond ashamed of himself. He really should leave it alone. So he put the bow on his back, silently making his steps back. His boots caught on a dry branch, the sound of the branch snapped in half, followed by the chirping sound of the birds caused the quiet atmosphere around them to shatter.
Then it happened, a pair of golden eyes stared back at him, pulling him into the bottom of the golden lake in autumn, drowning his five senses. The golden eyes that didn't belong to any human, a very captivating color that he couldn't bring himself to look away. It was the sensation of being eaten alive that he felt at the moment and it rendered him motionless.
The deer looked at him, moving closer to him in steady steps, as if it wasn’t afraid of him. And that got him afraid. The deer took one step forward, Jiang Cheng took another step backward. He didn't understand why he felt an overwhelming aura from the creature even though it was just a harmless animal.
He found himself keep on taking steps back without his unconsciousness, until suddenly his foot missed a step, crashing against something hard that he assumed was possibly a boulder. His body fell backwards, his head hit on that said boulder and the darkness quickly engulfed his senses.
During his daze, he vaguely remembered someone was holding into him. An elegant fragrance of sandalwood embraced him with a sense of safety, like he was being treasured. He tried to crack his eyes open, and at the corner of his eyes, there was a man, his pale skin and the outfit he donned on was white. A pair of golden eyes looked down at him with gentleness.
“Are you...a god?” He asked.
But a slight chuckle was all that he heard before his mind gave out, and he fell into the blind slumber, feeling safer than anything he had ever felt in his life.
The next time Jiang Cheng woke up, he was inside an old and ran down building. The building was really old, no one was here to clean and maintain it. He dashed his eyes around, trying to scan his surroundings. His eyes landed on the altar, where an old and rusted copper statue of a man that he didn't recognize sat, rather lonely. The statue was of a young man wearing a flowing cloud pattern clothes, his left hand holding onto a withered lotus flower and some sort of instrument inside his right hand, a flute? It was rather fascinated, he never seen a shrine before yet alone a god statue. YunMeng was a country that didn't worship in any gods. Unlike its neighboring countries, and it was a mystery that he didn't know why. He studied the statue’s faces and expressions, but no matter how hard he stared at it, it was just a normal statue.
Outside the window, the moon was already high up. Jiang Cheng hurried on his feet, cursing at himself. It seemed he had passed out for hours, the whole palace must had been turned upside down just to look for him. His mother would totally break his legs for it.
Just as he expected, the whole palace was looking for him. His mother was extremely furious, she would definitely break his legs if it wasn't for his father. And his adoptive brother and his attendants almost went over to the other side of the world as a punishment for losing sight of the crown prince.
As a punishment, both of them were sent to the ancestral hall and knelt for hours to reflect on their actions.
“Hey Wei WuXian, have you ever seen a white deer before?” He suddenly asked.
“White deer?” His brother thought for a long hard minute before shaking his head. He had seen plenty of deer, but a white one was definitely not one of them.
“Then do you know of any god that has flowing cloud pattern on his outfit and holding a flute in one hand and a lotus on the other?”
His brother shook his head, “God? That is something that you don’t hear often nowadays. We don’t worship any gods in YunMeng so how should I know.” Maybe it was better to direct the question to the head scholar instead of him. To which Jiang Cheng agreed, he didn't know why he asked his brother in the first place. Wei WuXian was notorious for never listening to lectures, so he didn’t know why he was even bothered.
That night, he sat on the window near his bed, his mind couldn't stop thinking about that vague figure in white that he sensed in his daze. Those golden eyes looked exactly the same as the eyes of the white deer that he saw. Then his mind went to that abandoned shrine, thinking whether everything was somehow connected. So he made up his mind and went back to the forest after his punishment was done.
Back then he was frantically rushing back, so he didn't quite remember which way led back to the shrine. It ended up taking him longer than he thought when the grey roof of the old shrine finally appeared within his eyes.
Now that he finally had the time to take in the view around him with the help of sunlight, the shrine was very well hidden behind good thick layers of trees and leaves. Besides him, there was absolutely no track of other living beings. Not a single sign of any animals yet alone another human.
During broad daylight, the shrine looked even more horrible than he remembered. Overgrown weeds, filthy dirt, scattered rubble. It was obviously abandoned for a long time. He looked around for any plaques or signs, but there was no such thing. He couldn't even tell the name of the god that enshrined here just from the look at it. Carefully made his way inside, he noticed that nothing seemed to change since the last time he was here. Everything was just a total mess. Now he wasn't even sure if everything he saw that day was just a product of his own imagination or not.
Then suddenly, a series of footsteps echoed through the empty space of the shrine. Jiang Cheng only had enough time to turn around before a man with white outfit walked in, carrying an armful of fruits. His pale white skin lit up in silver hue, his eyebrows twitched at the presence of someone that he didn't anticipate to see.
Their eyes met, as golden and violet stared at each other for a long while before Jiang Cheng broke the silence.
“I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude.” And he mentally slapped himself for it. No one lived here obviously, so he wasn't really intruding on anyone.
“No, please excuse me, I shouldn't have walked in abruptly like that.” The other man also mentally slapped himself. Why did he have to ask for permission to enter his own place?
Then another long silence followed, not until a small chuckle was heard, then they both laughed at their stupidity.
After calming down, Jiang Cheng finally cleared his throat, a shade of red washed through his cheekbone embarrassingly. Where were his manners, he should introduce himself first.
“The name is Lan XiChen.” The other man smiled softly, “To why I owe the pleasure of your presence here Young Master Jiang?”
Jiang Cheng hesitated, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to tell the truth or lie a little. After much debate, he ended up telling half truth and held back the other half. He explained that he woke up inside this shrine one night and his curiosity got the better of him, so he decided to revisit the place.
“I have been hunting inside this forest for years, but this is my first time coming across this shrine. So I was curious. Not many of my friends knew this place existed.”
“Yeah, it is pretty hidden away from other parts of the forest. So it could easily be missed.” Lan XiChen nodded his head.
“Are you a resident here?”
“Yes, I have been living here for awhile by myself.”
Ah, probably he was a homeless person. But one glance of him, he didn't look like one however. He had never seen a homeless person that looked as neat as him. His white outfit despite well worn had no touch of dirt on it. His long black hair tied together neatly with a ribbon that matched the rest of his outfit. He looked too divine to actually be homeless. But if he actually lived here, maybe he would know what kind of god was enshrined here.
He turned his gaze to the altar, about to open his mouth, then his lips immediately shut closed. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, believing that it would make it work better and brought back the thing that was supposed to be on the altar back to where it belonged. But it didn't matter how many times he blinked, the statue just...nowhere in sight.
“Um…, you said you live here right? Like, permanently?” He asked, still trying to take in the scene in front of him.
“Ye-yea, I live here, I don’t plan to do that for the rest of my life, but for now...I guess you could say permanently.” Lan XiChen smiled awkwardly. It was a rather weird question to ask if he was being extremely honest.
“Then, what happened to the copper statue here?” Jiang Cheng pointed at the empty altar, where he swore to seven gods that he saw a statue of a man with a flute and a flower on his hands. But now the space where the statue sat on the altar was empty, as if the statue had a pair of legs and decided to run off.
Hearing the slight frantic and trembling tone from his voice, Lan XiChen let out a small chuckle. To which Jiang Cheng twitched his eyebrows and raised his voice in an interrogating tone, he didn’t know why that was funny, and he hated it when people laughed at him for no reason. So he demanded a justified answer before he decided to beat the man up or not.
“Apologies, Young Master.” Lan XiChen tried to compose himself, “Maybe you did see things. I have been living here for awhile but I have never seen any statue.” He explained.
But Jiang Cheng refused to believe it. Maybe a thief came by when Lan XiChen wasn't around to steal the statue? But what kind of thieves would even bother stealing from a rundown shrine like this? They would be better off stealing from the city. The prince wasn't convinced, he circled around the altar a couple of times to find any traces of the statue being removed, after all a statue of that size would at least left behind some marks. However, to his dismay, he couldn't find any sign of the statue being there, or being taken away.
“Impossible.” He dropped down on the space that Lan XiChen cleaned up for him prior, mumbling to himself. The other man offered him an apple, to soothe his anger. Jiang Cheng took the apple inside his hand, and angrily tore it into half. He shoved the pieces of apple inside his mouth and chewed on it like biting down on ground meat.
Lan XiChen blinked his eyes at such behaviors. He definitely had seen a number of young masters throughout his entire life thus far, but none of them seemed to behave the way Jiang Cheng did, and that got him rather interested.
“So," After done chewing angrily on the apple, the young prince turned his head to the man cladding in white and began to question him, “You live here by yourself?”
Lan XiChen nodded his head, he couldn't exactly recall for how long he had been living here, but he knew it was a really long time, “I used to live here with my brother. But now, it is just me.”
“What happened to your brother?”
“Ah-” Unknown sadness piled up inside Lan XiChen's golden eyes like a sudden passing rain, “He...is gone, for a long time now.”
Jiang Cheng found himself speechless, whatever words he wanted to say remained inside his throat. He tilted his head to look at the other man. At this close, he could tell there was a certain sadness drowned inside his eyes, a longing pairs of eyes that reflected the image of a lonely person that only lived out his life because that was all he could do.
The next few weeks, Jiang Cheng found himself kept coming back to the abandoned shrine. There he would be greeted with a bright smile that just as golden as the sun above him. He would be offered different types of fruits and some questionable vegetables from the other man. But to his surprise, everything was amazingly good despite some skeptical feeling at the beginning. He also learned that Lan XiChen was a man of many stories. He told him stories from ancient times, from when the first people that built the country of YunMeng.
“Do you know why lotus is the national flower of YunMeng?” Lan XiChen asked.
That of course he knew. The head scholar made sure that he knew everything he needed to know about the country, so of course he knew why lotus flower was chosen as their flower.
The country of YunMeng was founded by Jiang Chi- a wandering swordsman. He came across this land with rivers and ponds, and decided to settle here and that was how the country was built. Due to the natural ponds and lakes of the land, he decided to grow lotus flowers, a special flower that can grow on water, and every part of the lotus could be used as food and medicine. It was a wonderful flower. Besides, the lotus flower was a symbol of purity and righteousness. It grew inside of mud, but didn't get stain or smell like one. It was a symbol and a moral lesson for the citizens of YunMeng to look up to.
“Do you know where he find those very first lotus seeds?”
“He is a travelling swordsman, he must have some with him in his belongings.”
Lan XiChen shook his head, telling him that it wasn't quite the truth. The man explained in a soft and clear tone much like that of a storyteller. When the swordsman arrived at this foreign land that later known as YunMeng, he was greeted with a breathtaking sight of a vast lake filled with purple lotuses. Along the lake, there was a small village full of people. The villagers were described as beautiful people with divine features. Each and everyone of them emitted an aura that beyond the understanding of man. They introduced themselves as the residents of this land, and they were more than happy to accept him as one of their own. After spending time there, Jiang Chi fell in love with the generous people, and he found himself the love of his life. He married her and with the support of her people, who didn't hesitate to help him when he wanted to build a place for other travellers to rest, a place that they could call home. And that was the beginning of the country of YunMeng. The descendants of Jiang Chi and that fair maiden became the royalty of YunMeng. The people that Jiang Chi met, was a group of heavenly people that was born from the crystallization of the first sunlight and the morning dew from the passing cloud. They were what people of today referred to as the First Gods.
“The First Gods, I remember hearing them being mentioned briefly in a history book, but other than that.”
The man clothed in white nodded his head. They were somewhat like gods themselves, with power that was beyond human’s understanding. They were worshipped and enshrined. They granted human’s wishes and lent them the strength to fight off invaders, hands in hands. The people of YunMeng loved them, prayed for their protection. But they weren’t almighty, “I am not surprised if you have limited knowledge about them. After all, it was a rather tragic past that no one wanted to remember.”
The tragic past that Lan XiChen mentioned was a well hidden past that none of the citizens of YunMeng wanted to remember, and none of the younger generations knew about. It was a termination event, led by a radical group of cultivators. They believed that the First Gods were demons posing as Gods, and carried out sieges and eliminated them. It was what people referred to as the Siege of Lotus Pier. Many of them were killed, the surviving group found themselves hiding inside the depth of the forest, never making any contact with the outside again. Over time, their population grew thinner, and their existence completely erased from the history of YunMeng. Now they were only regarded as myth.
It was a sad story if all of what Lan XiChen said was the truth. He always believed that the people of YunMeng were good and gentle. To think that they would be capable of doing such horrid deeds terrified him.
“Young Master Jiang, please do not be bothered by it. It was a story of a long time ago.” Noticed the discomforting gaze, Lan XiChen quickly assured him.
“Is this why we never worship any gods? My sister told me, the country of LanLing worshipped many gods of their own, but it isn’t the case here in YunMeng. I thought that was just the way things are, and never question it.” He then turned to the mysterious man, questioning, “How do you know so much about something that happened that long ago? Did you read from a book?”
Lan XiChen didn’t reply, he just softly shook his head and remained silent.
Jiang Cheng pushed the door to the Study Hall opened, startling the head scholar and the other students. The head scholar was surprised at the sudden visit. But it was rare for the prince to have some questions, he felt his job as the head scholar was finally paid off. If he was going to give an honest opinion, the prince wasn't the best students ever, so to see him came up asking a question, touched his old heart.
“A god with a flute and a flower on his hands?” The head scholar’s eyes vibrated at the mention of God, his fingers went to brush the white beard awkwardly.
“It is not like I don’t know about it. But my prince, you are aware that our country is not-”
“I am fully aware.” The stubbornness of Jiang Cheng got the head scholar to give up. He told the prince to wait while he went to the back of the Imperial Library. A few minutes later, he brought out an old book with a white cover covered with dirty dust. The book had no title or author.
“I found this book a long time ago, tucked deep inside the old storage.” The scholar said, “Upon taking a look at it, I knew I was supposed to destroy it.”
Taking the book inside his hands, Jiang Cheng skimmed through the yellow pages, until his eyes stopped on a certain drawing in black ink. It was a drawing of a man, with a flute on his right hand, and a lotus flower on his left hand. His cloud pattern outfit floated gently as his white boots stepped on the water surface like a god descended from heaven.
“ZeWu-Jun, he was the river god of YunMeng. One of the forgotten gods.”
“Forgotten?” Jiang Cheng raised his eyes, questioning.
The older man sat down with his legs crossed, his fingers went to the cup of tea nearby, “He used to be the most worshipped god among gods. But due to a certain event, a majority of his shrines were demolished, people never sensed his protection anymore. And after hundreds of years, he was forgotten.”
“The siege of Lotus Pier.” Jiang Cheng mumbled. The head scholar’s eyebrows raised when he heard the name being mentioned.
“Where did you hear about it? It was such a long ago myth that nobody was sure whether it was true or not.” He sighed, “It was such a shame, the First Gods were the foundation of our country.”
Jiang Cheng found himself sitting by the window from his quarter, overlooking a lotus pond by himself. He loved lotus, he loved seeing it grew up. He loved seeing the sight of them in full bloom from the window of his bedroom. He loved the gentle scent that got carried to his room by the wind. An elegant fragrance that reminded him of home and family.
Flipping the pages of the old book inside his hands, but nothing entered his mind. All the things that he read, only made him wonder about what happened to the history of YunMeng. He always proud of it, of their rich tradition and culture. But somehow, he felt a doubt rising inside his chest. The story that Lan XiChen told him kept on replaying inside his mind, following him into his sleep.
Talking about Lan XiChen, he really enjoyed the man’s company. Not only did him was good at telling stories, but his demeanor and his personality gave off a friendly aura that easily attracted everyone closer to him. He loved going to harvest fruits and vegetables with Lan XiChen, who would teach him which one was better to pick, and how to distinguish between poisonous fruits from the edible ones. They would sometimes sit by the river and just listened to the sound of birds chirping and the water flowing. He loved it when Lan XiChen smiled at him, his golden eyes lit up every time he did so, and Jiang Cheng's heart beat faster without fail. It was different from the gazes that other maidens and lads threw at him. This tingling feeling that he didn't understand tug his heart painfully. But he couldn't deny a wave of unsettling happiness when he thought of the next time they got to meet.
His adoptive brother started to notice the changes in him, and kept on teasing him about it. He didn't leave him alone for days when he found him exhibiting these lovesick symptoms, that Jiang Cheng even if he died-would never admit that he was lovesick.
The rumors about him falling in love with a mysterious person soon travelled throughout the palace thanks to Wei WuXian's big mouth. To the point his parents summoned him and inquired about the existence of this person.
“It doesn't matter to us if this person is a male or female, a noble or a commoner.” Jiang FengMian said, “As long as you are truly in love with them, you can always bring them home and introduce to us. Right, milady?”
His mother didn't quite like the idea of the future king of YunMeng would marry a commoner, but she was foremost a mother before a queen. At the end of the day, she only wished for his happiness, “Bring the person first, then we will discuss the rest.”
“How many times do I have to say that I am not in love with anyone.” Jiang Cheng retorted angrily. He turned around and stomped on his feet. He headed straight for the barn and took off running out of the palace in rage.
He rode into the night on the back of his horse. His mind was a mess. He was angry because everyone kept on asking him about this mysterious lover that he had. But the other half of him was angry because his relationship with Lan XiChen wasn't there yet. He mentally slapped himself. What did he really want??
By the time he realized where he was going, he was already in front of the rundown shrine. Jiang Cheng glared at his horse, this freaking animal, it dared to bring him here of all the places it could go.
The horse let out a whining sound that sounded much like a laugh to Jiang Cheng. He clicked his tongue, letting out a frustrated shout, scaring off the horse.
After calming down, and feeling stupid for yelling at an animal, Jiang Cheng finally took in the sight of the rundown shrine. It was different from how it looked like in the morning due to the silver light of the moon. It was a pleasant difference, but the loneliness that reflected off the sight of it was familiar. Just like the man himself.
Jiang Cheng made his way towards the entrance, as he heard Lan XiChen’s voices talking to himself. He peeked through the crack in the door. From the limited view that he got, he saw Lan XiChen standing near the altar. His eyes looked up at a copper statue. The very same statue that he saw that night, the one that Lan XiChen kept on denying its existence.
Lan XiChen looked up at the statue with an overwhelming eyes filled with many uncertain things that he couldn’t let it out. The longer he graced his eyes upon the statue, the harder it was for him to control his feelings.
And Jiang Cheng could see right through it. He wanted to jump in and catch the man’s red handed for lying. But just one look at his face, and all the thoughts went out of Jiang Cheng’s mind. He pushed the door open, stepping inside. Lan XiChen definitely heard him, because he didn’t seem that surprised when a series of footsteps were heard coming from behind his back. Instead, he kept on looking straight ahead at the statue, his lips curled up in greetings.
“Did you forget something Young Master Jiang?” He asked.
“Yea, i forgot to confirm something.” He walked and stood next to Lan XiChen. His violet eyes looked up at the copper statue. It was for sure the same one, no doubt about it.
He then turned to Lan XiChen, looking into the other man’s golden eyes whom looking back at him, waiting for his question.
“This statue,” Jiang Cheng started, “is you, isn't it?” He continued in a low tone, “You are one of the heavenly deities that helped build the country of YunMeng, and is also the god of river- Zewu-Jun.”
Lan XiChen let out a chuckle, saying that it had been a long time since someone referred to him as ZeWu-Jun. May be more than a hundred years? Lan XiChen sat down on the floor, motioning for Jiang Cheng to do the same.
“How did you find out?”
“I’m not dumb, there was plenty of hints.” He let out a prideful scoff. It was easy to figure out. Especially when Lan XiChen didn’t try hard to hide it, only a three years old and Wei WuXian wouldn’t be able to find out. But it was plenty obvious for him, “Besides, I have been watching you.”
“Watching me? Why?” The voice that came out from Lan XiChen’s lips wasn’t that of a surprise, but more of anticipation.
Jiang Cheng felt his heart beat faster than it normally did. His breathings unintentionally ran at chaotic rhythm that was difficult to control. He could feel the heat of those golden eyes burned a hole right through him. Whatever words that he wanted to say, ended up not leaving his mouth when a pair of lips pressed against his own. It was warm like the morning sun and soothing like the sound of the river near the shrine.
When the sensation left his lips, he felt like he just lost something that he always wanted. And he was too dumbfounded, not being able to react properly.
“Please excuse me, Young Master Jiang. Maybe you should go. It is already late.” Lan XiChen’s eyes darkened with disappointment. Maybe he was too full of himself.
Before Lan XiChen got the chance to stand up, Jiang Cheng gripped onto his sleeve and pulled him back.
The young prince’s face lit up with a shade of crimson that was redder than the apple that Lan XiChen gave him the other day. His fingers slightly trembled. One good look at him and anyone could tell that he was beyond embarrassed.
“It’s late, I don’t wanna go back.” He said, his eyes refused to meet with the other man, but the grip tightened regardless.
“Won’t your family worried?”
“It will be fine.”
“I have no bed for you to sleep on.”
“Just give me your jacket to sleep on.”
“Alright.”
And that was the young prince first time sleeping outside of the palace, away from his high quality mattress and warm blanket. But in places of those, he got to sleep next to a person that was warmer than any blanket he ever used. Not to mention the soft fragrance from the other man’s body was really relaxing and charming. He wondered if all gods supposed to smell this good, or it was just Lan XiChen.
“That statue is the medium for my god’s core.” Lan XiChen explained. God’s core could be interpreted as the very soul of them. The source of their strength, power, energy and life. The statue was just a medium that they used to store their cores. Back then, when the First Gods and the humans were still living together in harmony. The human built them shrines and each shrine had a statue that modelled after the face of the respective god. The gods then placed parts of their cores inside these statues to act as their representatives. These cores were what formed the barriers that protect YunMeng and grant prosperity to its people. Most of the gods were killed during the siege of Lotus Pier because their god cores, which were embedded inside those statues were destroyed along with their shrines. After the siege, the surviving members of his clan and him retreated into the deep mountain to hide away. But as more shrines burned, more people from his clans fallen. Lan XiChen was the only one left thanks to one of his faithful believers built a small shrine deep inside the forest for him. And that was how he survived through these hundreds of years.
“This is what left of my core.” He walked closer to the statue, and pointed at the xiao on the statue’s hand, that Jiang Cheng just learned. From where he pointed, a small light of azure lit up faintly like a flame that was dying out. A majority of Lan XiChen’s god core was destroyed. His power grew thin, and his life was confined to this shrine and this statue afraid that if he went anywhere too far, someone would come and destroy it. During the day, he hid the statue away from people’s eyes, then at night, he brought it out for it to be bathed and absorbed the energy of moonlight, in hopes that he could slowly restore it to its original form. They were born from the first ray of sunlight and the dew of the passing cloud- yang , so they need to absorb the moonlight to complete the yin in them.
“Your brother? Did he…?”
“Yes, he lost his life during the Lotus Pier siege.” Not just his brother, but his father, his uncle and everyone that he knew just left him one day.
Jiang Cheng rested his head on the older man’s broad shoulder, listening to his story with a disdainful heart. He didn’t know what to say when it was his people that took away Lan XiChen’s family.
“Please don’t look like that.” Thin and delicate fingers stroke the line of his cheek tenderly, “It wasn't your fault. Besides,”
His golden eyes trailed out to the window above his head, “Death isn't the end of everything. As after death, there is reincarnation. Even though we may never get to meet again, but I know he is living a better life somewhere, and maybe he will be able to meet his destined person.”
Letting out a tender chuckle, Lan XiChen's fingers sneaking their way to Jiang Cheng's hair and caressed it, “Like how you are my destined person.”
“Stop saying things that make me want to throw up.” Jiang Cheng scoffed, turning his head away. But the sign of his ears got red didn't escape XiChen's gaze, “How are you even so sure anyway? Some kinds of God's intuition?”
“What was your courtesy name again?”
“Jiang WanYin.” He replied, didn't know why Lan XiChen suddenly changed the topic.
“Xi, Wan, day, night. You are the yin to my yang, it can't just be a coincidence.” XiChen laughed out loud, seeing the red shade of embarrassment travelled up the prince's ears all the way to his high cheekbones. A hard slap was pushed onto his shoulder, making him yelped in small whine of pain.
“Lan XiChen, I didn't know you are the kind of person that could speak in such sultry words! Shame on me for thinking highly of you.”
Seeing how the young prince got so embarrassed till the point of getting angry, Lan XiChen decided to withhold the rest inside his mind. He wanted to let Jiang Cheng know that there was something special about him. He realized something was different from this human the moment he laid his eyes on him. A normal human shouldn't be able to see a god unless it was permitted by the god himself. Lan XiChen had made it so that he was invisible to normal human's eyes, to protect himself against those that still wished to harm him, and living out his quiet life at the depth of the forest. And yet, he managed to see through both his animal form and his human form. Lan XiChen had no explanation for this, but he believed it was fate. For him who had been living by himself for hundred of years, Jiang Cheng was like the refreshing wind that heaven sent to him, and changed his gloomy, meaningless life into something more meaningful. And for once, the thought of living for another hundred years together with Jiang Cheng crossed his mind, and for once he thought, it wasn't so bad.
He was really the peaceful night to his chaotic day.
Time seemed to flash by fast when people enjoyed their lives, and that was the same with them. A year had passed by and it was filled with plenty of happy memories. Jiang Cheng came by to the rundown shrine everyday and spent as much time with his god lover as he was allowed. Everytime, he would come with different types of food that he took from the Imperial kitchen because he was tired of eating just fruits and vegetables. Sometimes he would bring He Feng Jiu, a YunMeng special wine in hope of sharing it with Lan XiChen. But being god, he refused to drink anything except water and tea, and that pissed the prince off. He complained that he was too uptight while chugging down the jug of wine by himself. He said it was just a lame excuse that Lan XiChen made up because he was bad at drinking, and Lan XiChen didn't deny or confirm it. So it was a mystery that Jiang Cheng swore he would get to the bottom of it someday.
Everything was like a peaceful dream that they both wished could last for a lifetime.
Until fate finally decided to flip the coin on their peaceful time and happiness.
Jiang Cheng came to him one day with a sullen face. After a few minutes of asking, he finally said that the Qishan Wen kingdom had been sending their soldiers to the neighboring towns of YunMeng with unreasonable demands and causing troubles. And Jiang Cheng couldn't stand for it. So he begged his parents to send him over there to fight against the Wen and protecting their country.
“I will be back within a few months.” Jiang Cheng assured his lover, whose face had already fallen upon hearing the news.
“But, it will be dangerous.” Lan XiChen mumbled. Qishan Wen was known for their ambitious and ruthless plans to conquer other countries. The only reason that they had not been able to do so in the past was due to the protection of the gods of YunMeng and the resilient fighting spirit and a love for their nation of YunMeng's people. But at his current sorry state, he couldn't do anything. He silently cursed at his own uselessness, “Why do they have to send out a crown prince like you?”
“Precisely because I am the crown prince that I need to handle this. It is the matter of peace for my people. Don't worry. I have been to battles before, I know how to take care of myself. Besides, this is more like a negotiating mission. Fighting is the last option.”
Biting his lip, Lan XiChen caressed the other man’s cheek in loving circles, “I'm sorry, I can't offer you any assistance. At least, let me go with you.”
“It's alright. I will be back before you know it.”
Lan XiChen gritted his teeth, raising his eyes up once again,“Then...can you come with me? I have a place to show you.”
Holding onto his human's lover, Lan XiChen lead him deeper into the forest, through layers of thick leaves and trees, until they arrived at a small lake. Under Jiang Cheng's eyes, countless of lotus flowers covered the surface of the lake like a purple veil. The color of the water lit up in azure and violet hue as the moonlight poured down from the sky in silver droplets like rain.
It was breathtaking.
“WanYin.”
He turned around at a gentle voice that called out his name. In front of him was a man cladding in white like snow outfit, his black hair stood out even among the darkness around them. His golden eyes illuminated an ocean full of emotions.
Holding Jiang Cheng's hand inside his own, Lan XiChen softly caressed the calloused fingers from holding sword and bow for a long time. He loved these fingers and how tough it looked. A hand of a hard-working person.
“WanYin,” He called out his name again, “This lake, was where Jiang Chi proposed to his fated partner.” His words were spoken softly, yet every word entered Jiang Cheng's ears as clearly as day.
The older man reached out to his hair, untying the ribbon that held them together. The white ribbon lied neatly against his fingers, flowing blue cloud patterns lit up in small blue aura as the ribbon slid down the other man's fingers and onto his.
Jiang Cheng slightly trembled as the fabric made contact with his skin as immediate warmth radiated from it. The ribbon lighted up in white and blue light and began wrapping itself around his palm, until there was a tie knot connecting the two ends of the fabric together. He couldn't take his eyes off it, admiring how it was beautiful and above all, how fitted it looked on his hand just like how it fitted to the color of Lan XiChen's hair.
“Every member of my clan used to carry a ribbon like this with them.” Lan XiChen smiled at him, “It is a symbol of regulating one self and restraining their worldly desires. It can never be touched or taken off in front of anyone, except-” His golden eyes now looked up as he took in the entire entity of Jiang Cheng inside those bright eyes, “Except, in front of their fated person.”
Fated person…
Jiang Cheng let out a sharp intake of breath. He meant him, didn't he?
“I'm giving you this ribbon as a way to profess my love for you, Jiang WanYin.” He exclaimed, “I promise to give you my everything. My name, my body and my heart. Everything is yours to take and do with it however you may.” His fingers tightened around Jiang Cheng’s ones, bringing their hands closer, “I promise you that I will always be with you, even death wouldn't be able to tear us apart. I will find you, no matter where you are, days and nights, I will find you, this lifetime, next lifetime and many lifetimes after that.”
Every word was like a series of bells that echoed inside his mind. He knew that falling in love with Lan XiChen was impossible. He was a god and he was a mere human. He would one day outgrow Lan XiChen, and returned to dust before him. And yet, knowing that Lan XiChen would go through lifetimes to find him, a heart wrenching cry escaped his heart. He believed it, he believed in everything that Lan XiChen said. He believed that there was reincarnation, and he believed that Lan XiChen would be able to find him in his next life and many life after that. And even if Lan XiChen couldn't go look for him, he would do it himself. He would go look for him in his next life and many life after. So they would meet again and fall in love again.
“I have something for you too.” Jiang Cheng said, pulling out from his pocket a silver bell in the shape of a lotus. It was the bell that was made for him on the day he was born. It had been together with him since he was a baby, and had never left his side. He told himself that, when he found a person that he truly loved with all his heart, he would give them this bell, as a token of his feelings. And now, he believed, Lan XiChen was the one that he would love to have walking next to him for the rest of his life.
Pulling the older man into a tight embrace, Jiang Cheng stood on his toes, reaching out for his thin lips with his own. Scent of sandalwood and lotus mingled together in a dance of love and longing.
True feelings were exchanged, as their heart drenched with droplets of hope for the future to come.
If both of their hearts already imprinted with the other's trails of footprints, then they didn't need to ask where the other went. Just following the call of their hearts, they would be able to find their way back to each other.
No matter how far ahead the other went.
Lan XiChen woke up that morning with a heavy chest. He looked at the marking that he made on the wall, today marked the end of the third month since Jiang Cheng's departure.
His day started off with a normal routine. He would dress himself, and go wash his face at the nearby river where he met Jiang Cheng for the first time. Then he would go and gather the fruits and vegetables for the day.
But today, his routine was disrupted by a rider on a black horse.
“Excuse me, are you Lan XiChen?” The rider dropped down from his horse, running towards him.
“Y-Yes I am…” Lan XiChen was taken aback, but he quickly raised his guard. A normal human couldn't see him, unless…
The man introduced himself as Wei WuXian. To which Lan XiChen immediately recognized the name. Jiang Cheng had mentioned a lot about him. Even though this was their first time meeting, he didn't think of him as a stranger.
But the Wei WuXian in his imagination from hearing Jiang Cheng's stories was rather different from the one that stood in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot, and their corners lit up with red shade of exhaustion. His black eyes, the mischievous and bright gaze that he often seen with were replaced with deep pain and... loss.
“Young Master Wei, is there something the matter?”
Wei WuXian bit his lips, his trembling fingers went to his chest and brought out a small wooden box. He handed the box to Lan XiChen as visible tears welled up his hazy pupils.
Taking the box into his hands, Lan XiChen contemplated if he wanted to open it. His heart unconsciously beat faster against his chest. His long fingers shook uncontrollably as if they were telling him not to open.
But he did. Once he opened the box and saw what inside, the world around him disappeared. Everything vaporized into thin air, and suddenly, the memories of the siege of Lotus Pier came back in full force. The image of his family turned to ash and disappeared in front of his eyes, of how everything that mattered to him had been snatched away from him.
The white ribbon that he gave to Jiang Cheng the night before his departure rested on the bottom of the box. The ribbon was dirty with filthy mud as a large part of it dyed in a red color that smelled heavy like the scent of blood and war.
“Young Master Wei, can you please do me a favor?”
Clutching the wooden box tightly to his chest, Lan XiChen pleaded, “Please allow me to see him.”
Riding off outside of the forest, it was the first time in hundreds of years that Lan XiChen went anywhere further away from his hidden shrine. The last time he entered this forest, he was carrying his injured brother praying to heaven and earth that everything would be alright.
Thousands of times did he never imagine the next time he came out, he would at the verge of losing someone else important again.
The way to the palace was longer than eternity, and the climb of the lotus staircases felt like another lifetime. Rows of white lotus flags hung around the staircases in a solemn vow of moaning.
The closer he got to the main hall, the louder the crying voices were. There was a loud cry of pain of a young woman, and a forced voice of an older woman trying to suppress the pain that threatened to tear her heart apart if she didn’t force herself to stay strong.
A black coffin rested in the middle of the main hall. Around them kneeled a lot of people wearing white.
The woman on the left had a small frame, on her hands carrying a bouquet of purple lotus as she bent over on her frail frame, crying her heart out. She had only left home for two years, but who knew it was the last time she ever got to see her beloved brother. Next to her were the king and queen of the country of YunMeng, they were all dressed in mourning attires. Their eyes were hollow and their ashen faces damped with grief.
The crying and shouting stopped and silence dwelled when a man cladding in snow attire stepped in.
Lan XiChen found himself struggled to walk straight as tears flew steadily from his golden eyes as they caught sight of the beautiful resting face of his love. He looked peaceful, like he was just sleeping. Yet the pale color of his face and lips indicated the opposite.
He walked to the side of the coffin, recalling the embarrassed smile of Jiang Cheng when he gave him this ribbon. Yet, now looking at his face again with no warmth in his eyes, no love to be spoken from those lips. He was too late, he wasn’t there when Jiang Cheng needed him the most. He should have tried his best to stop him from going. He should have told him about this bad feeling he felt on the day he left. If he was selfish, telling him not to go, then everything wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Death wasn’t kind, he knew about it all too well. It took away anyone and anything. It had taken too much from him, and for a long time he had learned that he didn’t deserve to fall in love. For his love would only be a burden on the other. And apparently he was right. Death had ripped away whatever was left of his sanity from him, burying it deep inside the dirty of the earth, as life trampled upon him with its cruel foot.
He was cursed, now he was sure of it. Or how else, his life had been nothing but losing the people that he loved to the merciless hand of death.
Stream of tears fell down his cheek, staining his beautiful face with a twisted sorrow of pain and despair. More than him, Jiang Cheng’s family must have been devastated, compared to them, whom only knew him for more than a year, his feelings for him seemed less to them. However, the memories that they made together in that one short year was enough to last a lifetime, and to be carried to the next.
If he couldn’t see him again in this lifetime, then he will look for him in the next one. It was what he promised him after all.
White dots of light appeared from the place on his chest, where the white ribbon was. Lan XiChen took it out, and carefully placed it inside Jiang Cheng’s lifeless fingers. He carefully tied a lovebird knot, stopping for a second to take in the view, imagining how Jiang Cheng’s cheeks would turn a shade redder if there was still any light left inside those violet eyes.
The white dots grew in intensity, as blinding white light appeared over where his heart was. He reached over to the white light and from within, his delicate fingers pulled out a white jade xiao. The instruments glowed in gentle wave of light, shimmering in a soft and warm ambience that just like the moon at night. Just like how Jiang Cheng was to him.
Bringing the xiao to his lips, sounds of elegy echoed through the hall. It was a song that more painful than any mortal’s pain, a song that filled with regret, pain and longing. A song like a promise that would last for eternity. A god would never go back on his promise. He promised to protect the human, so he did. He promised not to seek vengeance on the people that took his family away, so he didn’t. He promised that he would love Jiang WanYin even death couldn’t tear them apart, so he did.
Once the song ended, tears flooded down everyone’s cheeks like downpour rain. Even the tough queen could no longer hold back her grief.
The white light died down as the xiao disappeared from his fingers, transforming into tiny streaks of lights, sliding down the man’s palm and entered the heart of the lifeless young prince. His body glowed in white and azure light, as a gentle breeze tossed the white ribbon on his hand around, as if it danced to its own dance of regret.
Lan XiChen nodded his head, looking at Jiang Cheng for one last time, then he bowed to everyone and walked away. No one stopped him, nor questioning who he was or what he just did. But they all knew the deceased prince was an important person to him, and him his.
Walking down the staircases with an empty shell, Lan XiChen felt his strength leaving his body, each step he walked became weaker than the last. He felt the bones under his skin began to crack and the joints breaking. His black ink lock of hair slowly washed out in the color of white. Wrinkles grew and spread among his white pale skin, as his face structure began to wither, in the blink of an eye, he grew at least a hundred years older.
What he just did was giving Jiang Cheng his god’s core.
He wished he could revive him, but even if there were ten of Lan XiChen, it would be impossible. Reviving the death was against the rules of heaven and earth. If he could he would already did, to revive his family a long time ago.
Lan XiChen laughed at himself. What was the point of being a god that could live hundreds of years if he couldn’t even protect the ones that he loved.
More than living for another hundred years more by himself, he rather made sure that he could find him in the next life. For a person that died during battle, they must have plenty of regret, till the point that they would turn into wandering ghosts that could never rest. With his god’s core inside him, he made sure that Jiang Cheng’s soul was protected and guided through the bridge of the underworld. So that he could reincarnate and began a new life.
As for Lan XiChen? He had been prolonged this meaningless life for too long. He was miserable until Jiang Cheng came and changed that. But now his only moonlight was taken away from him, then maybe it was about time for him to rest as well.
He had another lifetime to look forward to after all.
By the time the river god reached the last of the stairs, everything that was left of him was a pile of white fabric and golden ashes.
Somewhere in the air, one could still hear the clear ringing of the silver bell and the lamenting sound of the white xiao.
The River God was born from the first ray of sunlight and the morning dew of the passing clouds. And his human lover was the man that made from the reflection of moonlight. Their love story was like the border between day and night, where the sun met with the moon for a fleeting seconds before both went separate ways. No one knew what happened to them, and whether they did find each other again in their next life. But just like the sun and moon, even if their many lives didn’t end up well and ended shortly. They had many other lifetimes to go through, to find each other again, to fall in love all over again. Even when the other already went on ahead.
After all, they had made a promise in front of heaven and earth, a promise that couldn’t be broken for all eternity.
“I will see you soon, WanYin.”