Archive of Our Own

The fire had gone out over an hour ago by Wei Ying’s estimate. 

They had run out of dry brush and wood long ago, the rest had been drenched when the Xuanwu had thrashed around, when they had barely managed to escape into the caves that wove deep into Muxi Mountain. 

Wei Ying was already feeling the strain on his core as it tried to keep his body warm - they wouldn’t last long unless something changed. He was well acquainted with how fast the cold could kill, and he knew they didn’t have much time. 

Just as the fire was going out, Lan Zhan had suggested that they pool together all their driest clothes, huddle together in a back corner of the cave they were in. Something about trying to trap what heat they could between themselves, their clothes, and the two walls of the cave they were sitting against. 

Night must’ve been approaching, Wei Ying could feel the drop in the temperature within the cave. He could feel Lan Zhan’s attempts at hiding how he was shivering, their bodies pressed together side by side as closely as they could, trying to share as much heat as they could. 

There…there was a way for them to get and stay warm, Wei Ying had been thinking about it since the last ember of the fire went out, when he had finally given up on trying to rekindle the fire. Watching the single orange ember’s light dim, until it had turned to ash, had solidified a decision in Wei Ying’s mind. 

He wouldn’t let Lan Zhan die in this cave. 

Even if it meant he wouldn’t come out of it alive. 

What Wei Ying had been thinking about, what he had spent the last hour thinking about, was every positive memory he could, just wanting one final moment to think about the good parts of his life. That, should Lan Zhan kill him where he stood, he had one last moment to think of Lan Zhan, of his Shijie, of Lotus Pier, of his parents. 

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying spoke, his eyes still on the burnt out pile of their former fire. 

“Mn?” 

“I…I know a way to keep us warm.” he whispered, feeling the way Lan Zhan stiffened next to him, reaching down to clasp his hand. A tear fell down his face as his eyes closed. 

“Wei Ying-” 

“It isn’t ideal, it never is, but I refuse to think about you dying in this cave because I was only thinking of myself.” Wei Ying let out a small laugh. “What happens to me doesn’t matter, but I refuse to be the reason you freeze to death in this cave. I accept my fate.” He finally turned towards Lan Zhan, seeing the confusion on his face - and something…something he didn’t know what it was. 

Wei Ying took their clasped hands out from underneath their robes, holding Lan Zhan’s hand between his, before placing Lan Zhan’s hand on top of his head. 

He heard Lan Zhan let out a faint gasp. 

Wei Ying’s eyes closed, another tear escaping, as he let go of Lan Zhan. 

“You’ll need to send a small thread of spiritual energy towards me, when you feel my own reach out, you can stop. You’ll know what’s happened pretty immediately.” Wei Ying tilted his head up, finally opening his eyes and meeting Lan Zhan’s gaze, a soft smile on his face. 

It was useless to stop his tears at this point. 

“Lan Zhan, you are the best person I have ever met. I consider myself quite lucky to have gotten to know you. I have known no greater happiness than the time I have spent with you.” 

Wei Ying closed his eyes and met Lan Zhan’s stream of spiritual energy with his own. He could feel Lan Zhan’s hand stiffen in the fur atop his head, hear the sharp breath Lan Zhan had taken when he allowed his transformation to run its course. 

Wei Ying’s parents, the most substantial memory he had of them, involved being taught almost from the moment he was born that he was not to reveal himself to anyone he didn’t place absolute body and soul trust in. Neither of his parents had been able to find someone they could confide in, someone who knew of their natures other than each other and their son. 

It was a death sentence to tell anyone of their true nature, to reveal themselves and their shift to someone not their mate or someone they didn’t completely trust. 

The one thing the cultivation world didn’t know about Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze is that they were Huli Jing - and Wei Ying had been lucky enough to have been born one as well. 

It was both a good and bad omen when Wei Ying had been born a Huli Jing. Their kind had been hunted to extinction, even the accusation of someone being a Huli Jing often resulted in their death. Wei Ying couldn’t remember the exact stories his mother had told them of those before them, but he knew that there once had been a time where Huli Jing and humans had coexisted, had lived together and amongst each other with no issue. 

Something had happened, some Sect Leader had felt slighted, believed there to have been a conspiracy within his Sect amongst the Huli Jing, that they intended to kill him and his family and place themselves onto the throne - killing anyone who objected. 

Every single Huli Jing within the walls of the Sect had been killed. Homes had been raided in the middle of the night. Children of Huli Jing were slaughtered in their sleep. Not a single Huli Jing they could get their hands on was spared. 

Soon, the rumors of the conspiracy to take over the Sect had spread to other Clans, other Sects. 

They all followed suit, continuing on the path of violence, cutting down anyone who showed their tails, their ears, anyone who had been accused of being a Huli Jing or harboring one was not allowed to live. Innocence didn’t matter to them, the opinion of the Huli Jing had changed overnight, and continued on through generations. 

Wei Ying remembered hearing about the death of a Huli Jing when he was living on the streets of Yiling. How a few years prior the Lan Clan had been successful in cutting down another vile creature who would no doubt have taken over the cultivation world if they had been allowed to live. He remembered being fearful of his own identity coming out, of another street child or pissed off adult accusing him of being a Huli Jing just because, knowing that he would no doubt be slaughtered the moment such accusations even were spoken. 

He remembered the relief and the guilt that came with finding out that the Huli Jing killed was a man in his 20s. Another member of his kind was killed, but it was not his mate. 

Cangse Sanren had always told him about the circumstances of Huli Jing children, how they as a species had evolved in such a way that only if the will of the Gods above permitted it, a Huli Jing child was to be born. 

For a child to be born Huli Jing, it meant their mate was already amongst the living or soon would be, that the Gods or the greater spirits of the universe deemed a perfect match awaited the pair. Huli Jing mates would only be born in close proximal age to one another, to make it more likely that they would come into contact with one another due to their ages. As the years passed, generations passing by with dwindling numbers of Huli Jing within the world, it became to be seen as a blessing among Huli Jing to beget a child of their kind. 

And later on, it became believed amongst the Huli Jing that there was no higher honor than being blessed to find one’s mate.

To be able to find them within the world among those who wished for their deaths was rare, even before being hunted and slaughtered. It had already been considered a blessing to find one’s mate, but as the number of Huli Jing in the world dropped, the chance one would find their mate dwindled. 

Huli Jing had to adapt to continue living. They were already mingling with humans, producing children with them, but they were never Huli Jing unless both parents were. Adapting to the changing world around them was slow, but eventually it was determined that a Huli Jing child could come from a human relationship. It had largely been seen as a chance, there was a slim chance that their child would be Huli Jing. Eventually, it had been determined that the Huli Jing carrying the pregnancy raised the chances of a Huli Jing child substantially - leading to a whole new set of adaptations and evolutions within the Huli Jing as a species. 

The primary one being that, regardless of sex, if the Huli Jing was deemed by the Gods as a capable carrier, they would be able to get pregnant. 

His parents hadn’t taught him much about Huli Jing’s, deciding that he would come to learn the truth when he was older, when he was old enough to comprehend exactly what his parents’ words would mean. 

Wei Ying instinctually knew not to tell anyone, nor to show anyone his shift, or else it meant immediate death. 

So why hadn’t…

***

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened the more Wei Ying spoke, the more he moved their hands around. 

He couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped him as Wei Ying placed his hand on top of his head, directing him to send a thin stream of spiritual energy to him and to stop once he felt Wei Ying’s.

They were the same instructions his mother used to give him, so that they could still communicate even when she was-

Wei Ying’s words… the way he spoke as if they were his last, the tears that streamed down his face as he looked at him before transforming, before shifting into the most beautiful fox, Huli Jing, Lan Zhan had ever seen. 

All black from head to toe, five bushy tails fanning out behind him, Wei Ying had never looked more beautiful than in that moment. 

Lan Zhan didn’t think as he moved. 

***

Wei Ying found himself being tackled to the ground, his eyes springing open when he felt a snout rubbing against the side of his face. 

White. 

There was a white, five tailed fox on top of him. 

His movements were shaky as he moved away, reorienting himself on his feet so as to see what was truly in front of him. 

Golden eyes met his, wide and…

“Lan Zhan?” 

“Wei Ying.” 

Wei Ying could hear the mirrored astonishment and happiness in Lan Zhan’s voice, and deemed that a full fox form was too much for this moment - he needed to be in Lan Zhan’s arms. 

Lan Zhan followed his lead, both of them shifting into half-form shifts, retaining their ears and tails as they sat on the cold stone floor simply admiring one another. 

“Lan Zhan…you…” Wei Ying breathed out, eyes wandering Lan Zhan’s form in front of him. 

The pair were sat close, knees touching as they knelt on the stone floor, eyes never leaving one another for even a moment. Once Wei Ying had broken the seal, be the first of the two to reach out, Lan Zhan grasped both of his hands. 

“We could run, leave this world and it occupants behind,” the white fox started, “I…I do not wish to part, and I know it is unfair to push my own wants onto you but-”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying let out a small laugh, “you’ve gotta stop having the same thoughts as me.” 

He smiled, flashing his sharper canines. 

“I have always told myself that if I were to be blessed to find my mate, that nothing would separate us. Mama always told me that if I find my mate, to run and never look back - that’s what she did with baba.” A tear fell down Wei Ying’s face. “I knew the moment we met that you were special, but I couldn’t…I couldn’t be sure that it was you.”

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but reach over and wipe away the lone tear, cupping Wei Ying’s face. 

“Meeting you…made me feel many things I never had before, only heard of from my mother’s journals. I…I apologize for how I treated you, it was unfair of me to treat my mate with such hostility.” Wei Ying leaned into his hand. 

“Er-gege, you never need to apologize to me. Not for this, not for anything.” He whispered, sending the pair yet again into another moment of silence - simply basking in the presence of one another. 

A mischievous smile suddenly bloomed on Wei Ying’s face. 

“Lan Zhan, what do you say we pull a little trick? We Huli Jing are known to pull a prank or two every once in a while.” 

“Mn.” 

“You don’t even know what it is!” Wei Ying pouted. 

“Wei Ying came up with it, so it surely must be ingenious.” A squeak came from his beloved as Wei Ying shoved his face into Lan Zhan’s neck. 

“Warn me!” 

***

It took Jiang Wanyin, Jin Zixuan, and their combined 16 men a total of three hours to dig out the rocks that Wen Chao and his lackeys had used to cover the entrance to the cave. 

The pair had joined forces a day prior, running into each other as their groups were hiding from the Wen and trying to relocate the cave’s entrance; following their steps from over a week prior had been difficult before someone noticed an abnormally large pile of rocks. 

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been in that cave for over a week at this point. 

None of them wanted to think of what could have happened while they were gone, while they had been able to escape and run back to their homes. Jiang Wanyin was still mad at Wei Wuxian for staying behind, for once again “playing the hero,” but he knew that anything in that cave was going to kill someone like Wei Wuxian, all signs pointed towards Lan Wangji. 

Their small group entered into the cave, retying ropes to the posts that Wen Chao had cut down to prevent their escape. 

Once they were all back within the cave, the silence around them was deafening. 

There was no sound of the crackles of a fire, rustling of clothes indicating movement, no sign at all that there was anyone within the cave that even noticed their presence. 

A cold sweat broke across Jiang Wanyin, his eyes scanning the murky water, the shore with blood and arrows and torn pieces of clothing, looking for a single sign that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had survived. 

Jin Zixuan broke away from the group, slowly and quietly making his way towards the shoreline. 

Jiang Wanyin watched as the Jin bent down, picking up a red ribbon and a white, torn piece of cloth. The look on Jin Zixuan’s face as he turned towards Jiang Wanyin, no, he refused to believe it. 

Eventually, they were able to find what appeared to be a spot in the cave where a fire had once been, long burnt out. There was more blood, more clothing scattered across the small cave. Jiang Wanyin slammed his fist against the wall. 

“That idiot.” He mumbled, hastily wiping away a tear. 

It was somber - to walk out of the cave with nothing more than a red ribbon and half of what appeared to be one of the layers of Lan Wangji’s robes. 

Jiang Wanyin took a deep breath, looking across the inn table at Jin Zixuan. 

“You and your men will mention nothing of this to anyone.” He spoke, hushed as to not let the patrons of the inn hear their discussion - it was hard enough to conceal their presence from the Wen patrols, they didn’t need civilians listening to their conversations and spreading gossip. 

“We will speak of nothing of this so-called ‘recovery mission.’ If anyone asks, your disciples simply went wandering for a few days, needed to stretch their legs, take a breather after everything that has happened. We did not look for the cave. We did not find anything that indicates that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are anything but happy, healthy, and alive.” 

Jin Zixuan’s eyes were wide as he looked at Jiang Wanyin. 

“You are suggesting we lie to the Lan about their heir? Lie about what we discovered? Jiang Wanyin, I may not have gotten along with your clan’s Head Disciple, but it is insulting and demeaning to lie about the status of his life, of Lan Wangji’s life, to those who care about him.” he hissed, confusing Jiang Wanyin because - why now would Jin Zixuan show himself to have some sense of morality? Why does he care about what gets said about Wei Wuxian? About lying to the Lans about Lan Wangji? Doesn’t he see the bigger picture?

“The Wen cannot know that two formidable, powerful cultivators are no longer fighting against them. It’s that simple. No one can know that they are no longer part of the game, pieces taken off the table. This will devolve into war, one way or another, and right now it is an advantage to us if they think they’ll have to fight against them.” 

Jin Zixuan leaned back in his seat, slightly shaking his head, a look of disgust on his face. 

“It is dishonorable, shameful, to do such a thing.” 

Jiang Wanyin slammed his fist against the table, quieting the entire inn. 

“I don’t care about morality! If you can’t see how this is an advantage to us, just go hide back in Lanling with your father!” Jiang Wanyin shouted - the Jiang disciples in the room all let out a collective sigh at their heir’s loss of anger. 

Jin Zixuan stood, motioning for his disciples to follow as he exited the inn - Jiang Wanyin’s screaming following after him as he set his mind on Cloud Recesses. 

***

“Thank you, Jin-gongzi.” Lan Qiren spoke, his voice breaking as he tightly held the white clothing and red ribbon in his hands. “Gusu Lan will not forget your kindness.” 

“There is no need for any type of debt from this moment, Lan-xiansheng. I was simply doing what I knew was right.” Jin Zixuan shook his head. “Jiang Wanyin wished to keep this from you, from the Lan Clan and from the Jiang Clan. He’s got it in his head that it’s an advantage to us, to have the Wen think that they will have to face Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in battle, not knowing that they are no longer with us. I couldn’t…I may not have gotten along with Wei Wuxian, nor did I know Lan Wangji, but to keep something like this from their loved ones, their families, was something I could not just stand by and let Jiang Wanyin do.” 

“It is immoral to withhold the deaths of members of another family.” Lan Qiren mumbled, his eyes never straying from the cloth and ribbon in his hands. Jin Zixuan let out a scoff. 

“He kept going on about how it would be an advantage when it came to war against the Wen clan, if they didn’t know Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were no longer part of the fighting force, it would…” He shook his head, “It would give us some kind of advantage? I don’t understand his mindset, but then again, I’ve never been able to understand how Jiang Wanyin’s mind works - he’s always had Wei Wuxian at his side to speak to others for him.” 

Lan Qiren stood, bowing deeply to Jin Zixuan. 

“If you, you specifically Jin Zixuan, are ever in need of aid, of shelter, of asylum, the Lan Clan will always have our doors open to you.” He rose, “I understand that your father and the Jin Clan as a whole have been hesitant to join any gatherings of support for an alliance against the Wen Clan, but if you ever wish to join us against your father’s wishes, the Lan Clan would wholeheartedly accept your aid and skills.” 

***

The war, the efforts made by the aptly named Sunshot Campaign continued, their forces finally pushing towards Nightless City, where they would be able to end everything once and for all. 

Jin Zixuan had both seen and heard of the unlikely pair of Huli Jing that had been seen around Wen Camps - leaving behind hoards of dead Wen soldiers, slaughtering them in their sleep, paving a way for the Sunshot Campaign’s forces to push forward without much loss on their end. 

Opinions were mixed about the white and black foxes. 

No one knew who they were or who they could be. When they were seen in a half-shift form, they wore plain black and grey robes, masks covering their faces. Their swords were nondescript, likely simple swords taken from Wen soldiers or ones used by commoners. 

No one was able to get close enough to them to speak with them, to ask them why they were helping the Sunshot, whether they were fighting the Wen due to a personal grudge or as independent, rogue cultivators - no one was able to determine anything about them. 

And that made it very easy for the opinion of the pair to flip the moment the war war over, the moment Wen Ruohan was stabbed through the back, the moment they all realized the Sunshot Campaign had won. 

Jin Zixuan was disgusted at the way people spoke of the pair, the way his own father spoke of the cultivators who had aided them - whose aid likely secured their own victory. 

He didn’t think that his opinion of someone could be worse than when Jiang Wanyin had told him to keep Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian’s deaths a secret, when he had found the mere concept of lying to their families revolting - all merely for the concept of the Wen thinking they were alive?

And it didn’t matter in the end anyway. 

When Wen Chao arrived to Lotus Pier, declaring that he was there to punish Wei Wuxian, Madam Yu had been all too willing to announce his demise - to describe the amount of blood that had been found in the cave, that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were dead. 

Lotus Pier still fell, Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian still died, Jiang Wanyin had been lucky to escape with his core still intact after being chased by Wen Zhuliu. How he managed to escape, Jin Zixuan still wondered why. 

Following the end of the war, his arrival back to Koi Tower, he was constantly hearing vile words spoken about the Huli Jing pair. Words spoken about their unknown motives, how they had not been seen since the battle before the taking of Nightless City. That they may have been willing to help them that one time, but that could have just been their plan, lure them into a false sense of security - then swoop in and take over the cultivation world just as their ancestors had tried to. 

Jin Zixuan found himself spending more time in Cloud Recesses, spending time with Lan Qiren and other members of the Lan Clan who had been more than willing to let him stay there. 

People who shared his own opinion of the couple. 

That the Huli Jings that had helped them were likely mates, that they more than likely knew those fighting in the war. They had helped them, and now the very people they helped were now setting their sights on them, wishing and aiming for their own downfall.

The Lan Clan weren’t shy with their opinion of a Huli Jing - they were known to have the most recent history of killing one - but even someone like Lan Qiren had to admit that this particular pair had held such a monumental step in their victory against Wen Ruohan. If someone were to tally overall Wen soldier deaths attributed to a single person, the pair would have numbers far higher than any other participant in the Sunshot Campaign. 

While the Lan Clan - and the supporters of the Huli Jing pair, Jin Zixuan included - were adamant that the pair was to be left alone, that they hadn’t shown themselves since the end of the war, that they clearly were aiding them, not everyone held the same opinion. 

Many were emphasizing their assistance was a means of indebting the clans to their aid, that they now were going to be blackmailed into owing these foxes a debt that could be enforced at any time - one that they needed to get ahead of and prevent from taking place. 

The Jin and Jiang Clans in particular were sure in their thoughts, claiming that all the clans needed to send men to look for these foxes before they came back and overtook them. 

It all came to the surface when Jin Guangshan created a group specifically designed to hunt down the Huli Jing and bring their heads back to the clans - listing Jin Zixuan as the leader of the group, the one who was entrusted with beheading such vile beings and bringing their heads back to Koi Tower. 

That was the breaking point, the point Jin Zixuan could no longer sit back and silently go against his father’s words. 

He refused to lead such a group, refused to even support such a group’s existence towards a pair of beings that had shown no threat to them, that were being punished based off of centuries old rumors and exaggerated stories about coups and supposed plans of assassination - all of which had no proof, if one took the time to read the stories and truly look at what was being said. 

The pair had been quiet for four years at this point, he claimed that if something were to have happened, it would have been when they were at their weakest - after the war had ended, after Wen Ruohan was killed. 

Jin Zixuan knew that such words would not be taken lightly by his father, by the clan, by the Jiang Clan who were still trying to insert their way back into the Jin Clan via marriage - it wasn’t that Jin Zixuan didn’t come to admire Jiang Yanli, but even she thought that the world would have felt safer with the Huli Jing pair dead, and that wasn’t something he was willing to compromise on. 

It was a difficult decision, but Jin Zixuan decided to take up Lan Qiren’s offer, that the Lan Clan would be a more like-minded space he could live in. He would rather be known as an heir who abandoned his clan, a son of Jin Guangshan who would rather leave his position and take refuge in Cloud Recesses, he would rather be known for whatever they spoke of him by - than to think of himself as someone who would abandon his morals, who would bend to the thoughts of those who were supposed to be his superiors, his elders. Jin Zixuan would rather be able to sleep at night knowing that he wasn’t abandoning what he knew was right, just to make other people happy. 

He knew within a day that the letter he had sent to Cloud Recesses, to Lan Qiren, had been intercepted. 

***

This was it. 

Jin Zixuan was finally going to die and it would be on the dirty forest floor, from multiple stab wounds, probably poison coated blades, from an attack by members of his own clan and members of the Jiang clan. 

He was going to die slumped against the base of a tree, his body never to be found, his corpse ripped apart and scavenged by wildlife. He was going to die and his mother would never know that his cousin was part of the group that attacked him, that his father had likely sent out the order. She would never believe that her son would die in such a way, but the longer he remained unfound, maybe his father would pass off a body to look like him to silence her suspicions. All in a means to silence her, to silence Jin Zixuan’s contradictory attitude towards what Jin Guangshan wanted to do. 

Lan Qiren, of all people, would never believe it if Jin Zixuan just vanished. 

Even if the letter Jin Zixuan sent ahead of his departure had never made it to Lan Qiren - as he knew it hadn’t - there would be no chance that Lan Qiren would believe that something just happened to Jin Zixuan. 

He had spoken to Lan Qiren, the last time the Lan Clan was at Koi Tower a few months prior. Jin Zixuan emphasized that his father’s opinion was not something he held, that he was ashamed to even have to call that man his father. 

So when Jin Guangshan would inevitably announce the demise of his son, that he had been missing for weeks, that they had to call off the search and assume him dead - Jin Zixuan knew Lan Qiren would not believe such words, such claims. 

Jin Guangshan would rather have a dead son, no matter the means, than to lose a son to the Lan Clan and for the cultivation world to know that he left voluntarily. 

Jin Zixuan panted, his limbs weak, lightheaded, as he leaned his head against the tree trunk. 

He was going to die. 

The sound of a bush rustling nearby caught his attention, watching as a black nine-tailed fox stepped out, pausing to stare at him. 

“Oh, it’s you.” He breathed out. “Thank you for your help in the war, but I’m afraid nothing can be done for me now.” His vision was getting spotty, breaths shallow. 

The fox approached him. 

Another rustling sound came. 

A white fox joined him. 

“Oh, you’re mates.” A small smile crossed his face, watching the two foxes sit next to each other, looking at each other in a way that made Jin Zixuan think they were having some kind of silent conversation. “I’m so glad you found each other.” 

His voice was quiet now, all of his energy was being focused on keeping his eyes open, watching the pair. 

The white fox nodded, the black fox ran towards him. 

“Goddamn it peacock, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” A man’s voice said, right where the black fox had just been. 

“Huh? Where’d the fox go?” He slurred out, his vision swimming as he felt energy flooding his meridians, a set of hands ripping his robes and wrapping bandages around his wounds. 

A voice spoke on his other side, the white blur where the white fox had been was gone. 

Jin Zixuan didn’t have enough time to think about where the foxes went and how the men suddenly appeared - before he passed out. 

***

The pair carefully maneuvered Jin Zixuan through the entryway of their home. They had managed to wrap his wounds as best as they could, secured what broken bones they could see, before picking him up - probably to the Jin’s own benefit that he had passed out and was unable to cry out in pain. 

“Fuck.” Wei Ying mumbled as he removed all the bandages they had placed over Jin Zixuan, exposing his chest and all of the stab wounds. 

From what they could see, there did not appear to be any signs of poison in the wounds, no indication that Jin Zixuan had been attacked by anyone with the foresight to use something other than pure force of will and likely strength in numbers to kill him - and it was obvious that his death was their intention. 

He and his lovely husband had been doing their morning rounds of patrolling the area that they had claimed as their own - it wasn’t a very large area, but there was a nearby village and villagers that they often came across. It was their land, but even then, keeping people safe from what could be found in the deep woods that extended eastward was something that they took seriously. 

And keeping their kits safe was always a top priority. 

Doing daily rounds of the land, keeping an eye out for anyone in danger, for anyone lost, for monsters and yao and things that did not belong and would cause harm was easiest to do in the mornings - when their children were still sleeping. 

They had heard the fight, heard someone fighting against a group of people - and clearly losing. 

They watched from the top of a tree as a group of purple and gold surrounded someone in browns and greys, launching at him, leaving him in the dirt once they were satisfied with how injured he was - likely creating plausible deniability, “he was injured last we saw him, we didn’t kill him.” 

And Jin Zixuan certainly would be dead if not for their immediate aid. 

It would be two weeks before he opened his eyes again, and by then, even in their distant plot of land they heard of how Jin Guangshan had declared his son dead, that he was missing from a night hunt and evidence pointed to his demise. What did surprise the pair, however, was the Lan Clan’s insistence that Jin Guangshan was lying. 

They heard how Lan Qiren demanded to see a body before he would accept Jin Zixuan’s death, how he demanded to know what had supposedly killed him, how an accomplished cultivator such as Jin Zixuan had been fallen by a supposed beast that no one knew about. 

It felt questionable, to Lan Wangji in particular, as to why Lan Qiren was defending Jin Zixuan to such an extent. Clearly, something had happened between them, and they would have to wait for Jin Zixuan to wake up in order to find out. 

*** 

Jin Zixuan awoke to the sounds of laughter. 

He could pick out the sounds of two children running around, the sound of something running after them. 

After he managed to pry his eyes open, he was met with silence - and a gaze from someone he thought was long dead. 

Grey eyes looked down at him, a wide smile on his stupid face as he reached over to pat the Jin’s cheek. 

“Welcome back to the world of the living!” Wei Wuxian’s grating voice spoke. 

Jin Zixuan could only look up at him with wide eyes. 

“You…dead?” he mumbled, unable to form his thoughts together for a longer sentence. 

“Oh that?” He waved his hand. “It only felt like the correct thing to do. Lan Zhan agreed with me, you know, so you know it was the right plan.” 

Jin Zixuan turned his head, able to look out at the room he was put in, his eyes widening at the sight of Lan Wangji with a pair of boys sitting in his lap. 

The children part wasn’t what shocked him, nor was it the hesitant way Lan Wangji was looking at him - it was the ears that were sticking out from the children’s heads, the white ears that were sticking out of Lan Wangji’s head, and upon further inspection, the black ears that were sticking out of Wei Wuxian’s head. 

He swallowed, blinking as he focused his thoughts. 

“The foxes during the war, were you?” 

Wei Wuxian ran a hand through his hair. 

“Well, we couldn’t just leave you to fight a losing war all by yourself, could we?” He shot Lan Wangji a look. “Plus, we couldn’t really reveal ourselves, no matter how much we think some people might have accepted us. Somewhere, deep in our hearts, we still care for them, so we had to help in whatever way we could, knowing that if they knew who was helping them, we might as well have just sent them our heads ourselves.” 

“But I don’t understand,” Jin Zixuan started, “I thought both parents had to be Huli Jing to have Huli Jing offspring, Qingheng-jun wasn’t-” 

“My mother was. Xiongzhang was not born with her heritage, but I was.” Lan Wangji spoke from the other side of the room, standing and ushering the two kits towards a hallway before walking over to himself and Wei Wuxian. 

“My mother…encountered my father on a nighthunt. She was with her mate. He revealed himself to protect her, and was killed.” 

Both Jin Zixuan and Wei Wuxian gasped. 

“I had heard of the Lan killing a Huli Jing. A-Zhan, I had no idea that was your mother’s mate.” Wei Wuxian softly spoke, reaching across and grasping his mate’s hand. 

“My father took my mother back to Cloud Recesses, not knowing that the man they had killed was her mate. She was forced to lie, stating that she had no idea she was nighthunting with such a vile creature, but the elders weren’t having it.” Lan Wangji closed his eyes. “They wanted to kill her, believing that she was lying only to save herself.” 

“Then Qingheng-jun married her, and they couldn’t touch her.” 

Lan Wangji nodded at Jin Zixuan’s words. 

“She lived in fear when I was born, not only for herself, but for me, should someone find out that I inherited her heritage.” He reached up and brushed one of his ears. “I knew that she would die protecting me, that she would take her secret to the grave if it meant keeping me safe.” 

“But,” Jin Zixuan looked at them, at the ears on their heads, “How did you two find out about each other?” Wei Ying let out a laugh. 

“In that stupid cave, where else?” 

***

Time passed, Jin Zixuan’s injuries healed and he made himself a home with Wei Wuxian and his family. 

There were moments that he thought about going back, about appearing back in Koi Tower and declaring that he wasn’t dead, that they had tried to kill him and they failed. He thought about writing to his mother, to Lan Qiren, to let the people who cared about him know that he was okay, that he was alive - but from what he knew, they both already suspected that something had happened to him, they weren’t taking claims of his death at face value. 

But he knew that if he wrote to them, if he exposed himself back to the cultivation world before he was ready to face them head on, who’s to say that they wouldn’t try killing him again? 

Not to mention, if he went back to Koi Tower or Cloud Recesses, he wouldn’t be able to come back to the family he had become part of. 

Jin Zixuan had been welcomed into Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s family over two years ago, the twins had been wary towards him, but now he was their third favorite person - only behind both of their fathers, of course. 

Everything he thought he knew about Huli Jing had been challenged the more time he spent with the pair, as he watched them raise their children to embrace who they were and not who they were expected to be - it had been a lesson Jin Zixuan himself needed to hear as well. 

He only found out more about them when Wei Wuxian announced that he was pregnant, when this time, he pushed out a human baby girl. 

The addition of their little girl was welcomed to their home - and she took to Jin Zixuan like fire to a dry bush. She never wanted to be away from him. 

He asked them one night, why she wasn’t like her brothers, why A-Yuan and A-Yi were Huli Jing and A-Hua wasn’t. 

“Only when one’s mate is within the world, will a child be born Huli Jing.” Lan Wangji explained, brushing a hand through the short hair that covered his daughter’s head - her hands out, playing with one of his tails as it brushed across her face. 

“So the boys both have a soulmate within this world.” Jin Zixuan mumbled, his eyes on the human girl in Wangji’s arms. “Hopefully, like their parents, they will be able to find their mates as well.” 

“We can only hope.” Wei Wuxian let out a laugh from the bed. “Either way, if the boys manage to find a partner that accepts them for who they are, whether their soulmate or not, I will be over the moon for them.” 

***

Lan Qiren was firm in his stance. 

Jin Zixuan was not killed in a night hunt, nor in an accident. 

He had no proof, but based on the last conversation he had with Jin Zixuan in Koi Tower, weeks before his “death,” he suspected that Jin Guangshan wasn’t happy with the way that Jin Zixuan had been going against him. 

To know that his son had willingly broken off his reinstated engagement with Jiang Yanli over their unshared opinion about the two Huli Jing, to find out that Jin Zixuan would be leaving Koi Tower and fleeing to Cloud Recesses. 

Lan Qiren didn’t believe for a second that there wasn’t a targeted attack, perhaps even a combined force between the Jin and Jiang Clans. He didn’t believe that someone as strong as Jin Zixuan would be suddenly taken down on what appeared to be a regular night hunt - if the story Jin Guangshan was stating was to be believed. 

He wanted to believe that Jin Zixuan was alive somewhere, that there had been an attack, but they left him for dead - but someone managed to save him. 

Lan Qiren wanted to believe that the Jin and Jiang - because for all they grieved, they did not look like they were all that sad or disappointed with Jin Zixuan’s death - wouldn’t orchestrate something like that. Planning the murder of a Clan Heir because he was fleeing his home, running from people who wanted him to harm beings that he did not want to, to go against his own morals and choices - that was too much, it was something Lan Qiren knew Jin Guangshan would do, as much as he didn’t want to believe it. 

Jin Guangshan was threatened by the very thing that killed the first Huli Jings. He saw them having influence and demanded their deaths, positioning himself as a righteous man taking down a plot to take over the cultivation world.

And Jin Zixuan refused to go along with it. 

Lan Qiren sighed as he wandered through the forest, retracing the path he thought Jin Zixuan would’ve taken to Cloud Recesses - not the main roads, taking backroads through smaller villages, extending out the travel time by a week but then able to move around more undetectable. 

He pushed a tree branch aside and then froze. 

In the meadow before him was a white nine-tailed fox, two white and black speckled pups curled up against him - as well as a dozen white rabbits. 

The fox’s head lifted at the disturbance, their gazes locking from across the field. 

Lan Qiren felt his heart stop when he met the fox’s gaze, when he saw the fox’s eyes. 

He thought…he thought none of his nephews inherited their mother’s traits, he thought that made them lucky, that the Lan Clan wouldn’t have to hide anything about them. Their mother was already essentially locked up, there was no risk of someone finding her. 

But the fox before him clearly challenged everything he thought he knew about his youngest nephew. 

There was no mistaking it, Lan Qiren knew that was Wangji, nothing could convince him otherwise - the immediate sense of longing he felt when their eyes met could only be a result of seeing the nephew his heart was convinced he had lost, that had been taken from him, that had died in a cave with Wei Wuxian. 

Neither of them moved, they just continued to stare at one another, not willing to be the first to move. 

Lucky for them, it seemed, neither would have to be the one to move. 

Not when Jin Zixuan entered into the clearing with a black nine-tailed fox at his side and a child in his arms. 

Not when the two cubs that were with the white fox woke and ran over to the black fox, releasing the white fox, allowing him to stand and move around. 

“Lan-Laoshi,” Jin Zixuan started, eyes darting between Lan Qiren and the two foxes, “What…what brings you here?” 

“I…I was retracing the steps I assumed you would have taken. Your father has spread the story that you were killed in a nighthunt, but I refused to believe it.” Lan Qiren spoke, his eyes following the way the white fox stood and walked over to the black fox’s side, their heads nuzzling together. 

“Oh! Well,” Jin Zixuan paused, looking down at the foxes, “Thank you for not believing the lies they are spreading. We had wondered why the Lan Clan was so against the story that’s being told, which isn’t correct!” He jumped to explain. 

“I was followed, then attacked. Both Jin and Jiang disciples were responsible. They attacked me and then left me to die, plausible deniability, that’s what he says anyway.” Jin Zixuan kicked his foot out, gently nudging the black fox at his ankles. “If it wasn’t for them finding me, I would’ve bled out on the forest floor.” 

Lan Qiren looked down at the foxes, noticing that they were already looking at him. They looked at him as if they were wary, as if one wrong move from Lan Qiren meant they would attack and protect their own, that they were waiting for Lan Qiren to switch up on them - for him to lunge forward, sword drawn, declaring that the foxes deserved to die, that it was immoral to keep such monsters alive. 

They looked at him like they didn’t trust him, and Lan Qiren felt a chill down his spine at the thought - the ghosts of Cangse Sanren and Luo Qiang haunting him after their deaths, daring him to touch either of their children and their kits. 

Lan Qiren takes a deep breath, holding his head high. 

“Wangji,” The white fox’s eyes widen, “I didn’t know you inherited your mother’s traits. I spent your whole childhood glad that you hadn’t, that I wouldn’t have to fight to keep you safe from something that would cause your and A-Qiang’s immediate deaths.” A tear slid down his face. “I do wish you had told me, even if it was after everything, years later. Just letting me know that you were safe when I spend every day mourning and grieving you, regretting ever allowing the Wen into Cloud Recesses, for not telling you to run with Xichen, for letting them take you.” 

“And you, Wei Wuxian,” The black fox tensed, as if expecting the worst, “Please take care of Wangji as you have been. Keep him safe and loved, now that he no longer has to hide who he is.” 

Lan Qiren turned around, prepared to leave, to keep this secret for the rest of his life, not knowing if he would ever see Wangji ever again. He was prepared to leave and never come back, to be content with this small interaction, with being able to see that Wangji was alive and thriving.

Arms wrapped around him, a face pressed into his neck. 

Lan Qiren felt the tears pouring down his face as he grabbed the hands that held onto him, feeling a wet spot forming on his neck, right where Wangji’s face was pressing into the collar of his robes. 

He spun around, pulling his nephew into his arms, pressing his face into his hair, listening to the way Wangji’s breathing hitched as he tightly held onto him. 

“I’m sorry,” Wangji whispered, “I didn’t think you…I thought you would’ve…” He trailed off, not knowing how to properly convey his thoughts - but Lan Qiren knew what he was trying to say, he knew it all too well. 

Lan Qiren knew that Wangji thought he would’ve killed him, that he would’ve shared his heritage around, letting someone else kill him or hunt him down. He thought he would’ve cut him down the moment he found out - and his mother, thinking that Lan Qiren wasn’t aware of where such traits would’ve come from. 

Wangji spent his whole life in Cloud Recesses hiding, forcing himself to keep his secret to himself, never allowing himself to trust those around him enough to reveal such a life threatening secret - for fear that those he was supposed to trust would kill him. 

He was protecting the memory of his mother, the things she taught him, the heritage he shared with her, the one part of her that still lived on.

Lan Qiren held onto his nephew, tears spilling down his face. 

“I’m sorry,” Lan Qiren choked out, “I’m sorry I never made you feel safe enough to tell me, to tell anyone. I’m sorry that the only way you could be yourself was to leave, to tell the world you were dead so you could run away with your mate.” 

Wangji froze in his arms, slowly pulling back and meeting Lan Qiren’s gaze. 

He sighed. 

“Yes, I am aware that Wei Wuxian is your mate. As much as he annoyed me during the lectures, if he makes you happy, who am I to come between you? Who am I to pull you both apart when the universe had declared you destined from the start?” 

Lan Qiren turned, reluctantly releasing his hold on Wangji, and looked at the other two men in the clearing. 

Wei Wuxian was standing tall, nine tails behind him and fluffy black ears upright on his head. There was a child in his arms, one of the kits that had been laying with Wangji earlier, the child’s head tucked into his neck. 

Wei Wuxian met his gaze. 

“Would…would you like to meet your grandchildren?” He carefully spoke, tapping a finger on the head of their other son, standing upright, holding onto his leg. 

The girl in Jin Zixuan’s arms let out a laugh, clapping her hands together as she reached a hand towards Lan Qiren. 

“Yeye!” 

A tear slid down Lan Qiren’s smiling face. 

“Please.” He spoke, turning towards Wangji, watching as he nodded. 

They both walked over to them, Wangji’s tail and ears appearing as he pulled one of the boys into his arms. 

Lan Qiren looked at him and was hit with how A-Qiang looked in her fox form. 

They both shared the same white and cream colored coat, that entirely was shared between them. The only difference between them was Wangji’s eye color, something he inherited from his father. 

She never had nearly as many tails as Wangji and Wei Wuxian had accumulated. She only managed to maintain three, and they were always matted, a physical reflection of her mental state while being essentially imprisoned within Cloud Recesses, within her own home. 

A-Qiang may no longer be among them, her mate taken from her and then forced into a marriage to save her life, but here her son lived, here he persisted. 

Wangji was living with his mate, being lucky enough to even find Wei Wuxian within this life, and together they had three beautiful children - two with their own mates somewhere within the world. Their lineage wasn’t dying out, it was thriving, and Lan Qiren wouldn’t allow anything to happen to his nephews nor their children. 

***

Lan Xichen sighed as he wandered around Cloud Recesses. 

Shufu had been away for months at this point, declaring that he needed time away, that he needed time to travel and recenter himself in a way that seclusion wouldn’t be able to help. He had been updating him weekly, sharing who he had met and what he had been up to. 

However, in his last letter he shared that there would be a visitor coming to see him, that he was to meet him in the back hills of Cloud Recesses, where Wangji not so secretly kept the rabbits Wei Wuxian had given him. He didn’t know how someone would get into Cloud Recesses unless Shufu had given them a means of entrance, but even then it felt too much of a safety risk - unless meeting this person was vitally important, that lives were on the line. 

He reached the meadow, fully lit from the moonlight, and paused as he saw a fox laying by the tree, rabbits surrounding them, making the fox one of their own, like they were extremely familiar with them.

Lan Xichen didn’t know the fox, but by the volume of their tales, this could only be the white Huli Jing that he had seen during the Sunshot Campaign - one of the very foxes that the Jin and Jiang Clans declared must die, that no one knew their intentions, that there was no way of knowing if the foxes would be their friend or foe after Wen Ruohan’s defeat. 

The Lan Clan stood firm - the foxes should not be harmed unless they pose a threat, unless they attack first. Lan Qiren was adamant that the foxes had only fought and killed Wen soldiers, never any of their own men, and for that they should hold the trust of the great clans, that they had done more than enough to prove that they were their allies in this war. 

Jiang Wanyin, however, begged to differ. 

He claimed that the foxes should be killed on principle, that past precedent shows what happens when Huli Jing were allowed to run free. Jiang Wanyin claimed that the Jiang Clan’s values were firm, no Huli Jing should be allowed to run free - no matter how much they appeared to be trusted. They were vile creatures capable of manipulation, they could never be trusted. 

Jiang Yanli, however much she tried to downplay it, also appeared to hold these same beliefs, going at them by almost misdirecting her statements, never saying what Jiang Wanyin was too bold enough to say, but rather claiming that she would feel safer if they were dead, that the clans would be safer if they were dead, that there would be no potential risk of an uprising and takeover if they were just eliminated before any problems could arise. 

Lan Qiren had been very upset at their statements, at their actions, at their mobilization to take these foxes down. He had been surprisingly vocal about keeping the foxes alive and safe, that they had proven they weren’t going to go against the great clans - why would they have helped them fight Wen Ruohan if they were just going to take his place? 

And then news of Jin Zixuan dying reached Cloud Recesses, and Lan Xichen has never seen his uncle so angry as he was in that moment. Lan Qiren was moments away from hopping on his sword and flying to Koi Tower to demand an explanation, to demand to know where Jin Zixuan’s body was, to see it himself to confirm. 

The Jin Clan refused. 

Lan Xichen didn’t believe what Lan Qiren thought was going on - he didn’t believe that the Jin Clan would kill their own heir, that there had to be a simple explanation. 

Maybe Jin Zixuan genuinely did die in a nighthunt, maybe he had an unfortunate accident. 

Maybe there was no nefarious plot going on. 

Maybe Lan Qiren was still on edge, misplacing his grief over Wangji onto Jin Zixuan after forming a bond with the young man. 

Maybe he thought that if he could prove something had been done to Jin Zixuan, he could appease the guilt he held over Wangji’s death, knowing that there wasn’t anything he could’ve done to prevent it. 

If Lan Qiren could point to someone, something, that had caused Jin Zixuan’s death, it would be another young man’s death that he could find a cause for, that he could look at the whole situation and know what happened, how things ended the way they did. 

Unlike what he could do with Wangji and Wei Wuxian’s deaths. 

There was no closure for Lan Qiren concerning Wangji. He had let his nephew be taken to Qishan. He hadn’t done enough to protect Cloud Recesses from being attacked, there had to be more he could’ve done, things he could’ve done differently. 

Lan Xichen had tried to help Lan Qiren with his grief. He had tried telling his uncle that he had done what he thought was best, that there wasn’t anything he could change, things were the way they were supposed to be. 

He had gotten kicked out of his uncle’s home after speaking that line, being accused of being happy that Wangji was dead, that how could he not look at what had happened and see how every step led to Wangji’s death, how could he not see what could’ve been done differently, the things that should’ve been taken more seriously, more time considered for a solution than just jumping in blindly. 

It wasn’t that Lan Xichen got over his grief quickly, but rather he saw the ways things unfolded and knew that Wangji and Wei Wuxian likely did everything they could to survive, and it just wasn’t enough. 

He couldn’t change the past, revive the two they had lost - and he had learned long ago that holding onto grief would only harm him further, pull him down and down until he no longer recognized himself. 

Lan Xichen looked at the fox on the other side of the clearing, and felt something pulling him towards the fox. 

The pair of foxes had always maintained distance from the clans during the war, they had always left battles before they could be chased - switching forms and taking off into the nearest forest around them, running faster than any cultivator could chase after. 

He had never gotten close to either of them, not close enough to make out any features - plus they wore masks, hiding their faces. 

It was when the fox turned, looking at him, meeting his gaze, that Lan Xichen understood why. 

It was when Lan Xichen met the golden eyed gaze of his brother that he knew the truth. 

“Wangji?” Lan Xichen whispered, a tear sliding down his face as he fell to his knees, his eyes never leaving the white fox as he stood, as he hesitantly came closer. 

Wangji sat down in front of him, all nine tails fanning out behind him, moving in the wind. 

He could practically hear the “Mn” in his head, never forgetting Wangji’s voice, even after all this time he had been “dead.” 

Lan Xichen let out a watery laugh, tears spilling down his face as he reached a hand forward - fully sobbing as Wangji put his head into his hand, eyes slipping shut as he nuzzled into it. 

“All this time?” Lan Xichen’s breath hitched, “All this time it’s been you and Wei Wuxian?” 

It had to be Wei Wuxian, the black fox had to be the teen that Xichen had watched Wangji fawn over, angry at his own emotions, not knowing how to deal with them. 

Wangji’s eyes opened as he nodded, as he reached forward and grabbed Lan Xichen’s sleeve with his teeth, gently pulling him back. 

Xichen rose, following Wangji as they walked through the meadow and then past the barrier of Cloud Recesses. 

They walked for a few minutes, Wangji keeping his sleeve in his mouth, Xichen silently walking, watching, observing the ways Wangji walked a path as if he knew where he was going, determination in his steps. 

He froze when another fox jumped out of the bush in front of them, mouth wide open. Xichen wanted to reach for Shuoyue, he wanted to protect himself and Wangji from this threat - then he saw the tails on the black fox. 

Wei Wuxian trotted over to them, rubbing his face against Wangji’s neck before letting out a yelp - exposing the rest of the group that was waiting for Xichen to arrive. 

Lan Xichen felt tears spilling down his face as Lan Qiren and Jin Zixuan appeared, as two pups ran out from behind them, running to their fathers, another little girl was in Lan Qiren’s arms, small smiles on all of their faces. 

“Shufu?” His voice broke as he spoke, as he looked at the very alive form of Jin Zixuan. 

“It’s quite a lot to explain, Xichen.” Lan Qiren spoke, taking a step closer to him, the little girl in his arms reaching for Xichen. 

“Would you like to meet your niece and nephews?” 

A tears slid down Xichen’s face as he looked at the girl, as he saw the same golden eyes that Wangji had, his head turning at the sound of a laugh - finding Wei Wuxian tossing one of his pups in the air, Wangji watching them both, their other pup in his arms, a soft smile on his face. 

His gaze drifted to Jin Zixuan, watching as he shook his head, a small smile on his face. 

“One of these days, A-Yi is going to be too big for such antics.” He sighed. “At least A-Yuan is much better behaved than either his mother or brother.” 

Lan Xichen turned towards his niece in Lan Qiren’s arms, watching as she started reaching towards him, a wide smile on his face. 

“Bobo!”