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Lan Sizhui sets his tea on the table and covers his mouth with his sleeve. The glint in his eyes shows his efforts not to laugh at his friends’ antics.
“Lan Jingyi!”
Ouyang Zizhen balances a snow pea on his chopsticks as he complains to Lan Jingyi for being late in reading the last chapter of a huàben they were following.
“I took it upon myself to smuggle it to Cloud Recesses!” he says, almost losing his grip on the veggie. “Now A-Ling and I have to wait for you!”
Jin Ling rolls his eyes and nods in agreement with the young master from Baling, “sure, we could wait,” he smirks, “or tell him that the imperial tailor and the emperor's son—”
“No! No, wait! I’m sorry! I said I was sorry! I needed to practice the rules, the last additions! with the little Lan disciples!”
“Eh? How is that possible?” Jin Ling snarls. “You know them by memory!” Ouyang Zizhen chimes in.
“It's my way of giving back to the sect,” Lan Jingyi explains, making a dramatic gesture of clutching his chest, “plus, the little ones love me!”
“You let them play with the rabbits instead of visiting the wall of Lan rules,” Jin Ling says, “Wei Wuxian told me in a letter, he found it amusing.”
“Wei-qianbei!” Lan Jingyi laments.
Lan Sizhui places his hand on Lan Jingyi's shaky fist and pats it gently.
“Sizhui,” Lan Jingyi whines.
Placing his finished meal to the side, Lan Sizhui listens to the protests and assures Lan Jingyi that "you'll have time before the next Night Hunt." Jin Ling's spoilers get muffled by Ouyang Zizhen's bear hug, who takes pity on Lan Jingyi.
“Only because you're promising it!”
After light-hearted chatting and laughter, the group of friends settles for the night. They stay in the same room, using multiple soft sheets and pillows for comfort. It's a benefit to the privacy of the wing used by the sect leader.
"I wonder how they come with those ingenious, daring plots," Ouyang Zizhen says, and Lan Jingyi hums in agreement. "It never ceases to surprise me."
"Easy to be bold behind a pseudonym," Jin Ling murmurs into Lan Sizhui's shoulder.
"They've been writing that story for longer than you've been a sect leader," Lan Jingyi jabs before yawning. Jin Ling chooses to ignore him in favor of cuddling up to the non-obnoxious Lan.
After they close their eyes, a faint sound chimes close to the incense burner.
Darkness.
That's the first thing he sees, followed by the faint light of candles burning as he walks. He misses the weight of his sword and refrains from reaching for the empty space where his bow and arrows usually are.
Where am I?
Jin Ling advances along the corridor cautiously, trying to understand how he reached a dream of polished ochre and golden varnishes.
I don’t have nightmares when I sleep next to them.
Around the corner, he finds his friends, hidden behind a curtain of privacy. Jin Ling is about to ask them what happened when he hears it.
“Chief Cultivator.”
Jin Ling is startled to hear that voice in the room, a voice he recognises as his own. Peeking in, he notices the elegant and sober furniture with Qinghe Nie motifs, and in the center of the room, there is another Jin Ling?
With a green coat with gold designs draped on his shoulders, the Jin Ling of the dream huddles in on himself.
"It's not—"
"You're in my room, in such a compromising situation, and you will deny me?"
The Jin Ling of the dream tries to cover his naked body and traces of his acts under the amused gaze of Nie Huaisang.
“I will take this as reparations from the Jin sect. Sect leader Jin is so generous to be the one to offer.”
Despite Dream Jin Ling's gasps and initial reluctance, his body turns pliant under Nie Huaisang's caresses. Expert hands roam the sensitive flesh of Jin Ling’s chest, his lower belly, his thighs. His legs spread for Nie Huaisang's deft fingers, moaning "no, please," and "too much."
Jin Ling is mortified at one of his dirty fantasies bare in front of his friends’ eyes.
“O-ohh! Ahhh— mn!”
“Mn, Sect leader Jin. No, Jin Ling,” Nie Huaisang sneers, leaning in, “did Lanling Jin send me his loudest whore?”
Stuck to his place, Jin Ling looks down at the carpeted floor, red with shame as his counterpart moans unrestrainedly. He lets out a soft, strangled sound as Nie Huaisang grunts the dirtiest words between wet slaps.
The Jin Ling of the dream reacts as well, holding to Nie Huaisang's arms, moving his hips to meet the forceful thrusts.
“Ahh!”
The swaying finally gives way as Nie Huaisang climaxes, emptying his seed in the body shivering under him. His Jin Ling clings to him with his creamy thighs, trembling on the cock filling him to the brim. Their gasps and labored breathing fill the room.
Nie Huaisang tenderly brushes the hair on Dream Jin Ling's forehead and lowers him on the bed.
In the blink of an eye, the world around them changes.
The scenery materializes before his eyes. Lan Sizhui looks around and notices the wooden planks under his feet, the sounds of the splashing of water, and the subtle buzz of the life that flutters over its surface in the vast lake stretching out.
“Lotus Pier?”
In the distance, three figures of familiar robes stand on a boat approaching the shore.
Why did I appear here?
Lan Sizhui decides to wait for them, waving back to an agitated white dot. He wonders if they are in another scene of Jin Ling's dream, blushing by the vivid images they witnessed.
“Thank you for welcoming me.”
He turns at the words and recognizes sect leader Jiang walking with a man clad in beautiful purple robes at his side. The affectionate words accompany a smile that brightens up his face.
A conflicted feeling wells up in his chest at the nearness of the young man to Jiang Wanyin before he notices that it’s himself! It’s the Lan Sizhui of the dream.
“This husband missed you,” Dream Lan Sizhui says as he caresses Jiang Wanyin’s cheek shyly, “we assigned all afternoon activities and tasks. You don't have to worry about taking a short break.”
“I can always rely on you,” responds Jiang Wanyin, huddling closer, “my dear A-Yuan.”
His friends haven't noticed the situation, and asking for forgiveness in his mind, Lan Sizhui follows the couple. He watches with longing—and some embarrassment—as the men walk in harmony, grateful that at least his dream is platonic.
They cross a threshold, and Lan Sizhui pauses to look at the engravings on the door.
Silencing talismans?
“A-Cheng,” says the Lan Sizhui of the dream, “you work so hard, allow this husband to take care of you.”
His dream counterpart barely waits to enter the room to unfasten and discard the sash with a lotus flower motif. His robes fall in a graceful slide, revealing he’s naked under them.
“A-Cheng.”
Jiang Wanyin bites his lips to contain a groan.
Lan Sizhui has never been so close to qi deviation.
It's even worse when he hears familiar footsteps as the Lan Sizhui of the dream shows how well prepared he is for his husband. Jiang Wanyin sinks in his lubed heat with ease and a pleased smirk.
“Mnn—oh!”
Lan Sizhui’s lone consolation is that his robes conceal his arousal. Ouyang Zizhen is covering his eyes, and Lan Jingyi is covering Jin Ling’s eyes, avoiding Lan Sizhui’s gaze.
“A-Cheng! Yes, more, more! Ahhh—ah”
The obscene sound of Jiang furen riding Jiang Wanyin continues between wet kisses and breathy sweet nothings until he whines and moans about how perfectly they fit and how good his husband’s cock is filling him.
Jiang Wayin's thrusts increase in tempo as he grunts at the wanton moans, bouncing his beloved A-Yuan till they reach culmination—a climax that makes their bodies tremble—in the embrace of the other.
As various feelings run through the reluctant spectators, the world around them shifts once again.
The clean and sober color of the enclosure makes it easy for them to recognize Cloud Recesses.
Lan Jingyi never imagined he'd be privy to his friends' secrets, let alone in such an explicit way. The rooms are familiar now, but he is anxious about what they will see.
“Lan Jingyi,” calls Master Qiren to the Lan Jingyi of the dream, who turns from the paperwork to greet him.
“Lan-xiansheng”
No, oh no, no. Please.
“You’ve been diligent with your assigned classes and prompt in providing corrections,” Lan Qiren praises. "Furthermore, I'm aware that you have completed several of my assignments. Is there anything else this devoted disciple would like to do for me?"
“Serving Lan-xiansheng is my reward,” his Lan Jingyi says with a smile.
“You may serve me, then,” Lan Qiren says in a low, conniving tone.
The Lan Jingyi of the dream nods and kneels in front of Lan Qiren. His hands reach for Lan Qiren's lower robes and slowly lift them and pull them aside.
“You’ve earned this, my dear boy.”
With a whimper, his Lan Lingyi licks the tip of the erect cock. His hand covers its thick base, going up and down while giving the swollen head more timid licks. His shiny eyes look upward for validation.
"You may continue."
The wet sounds increase as the young man is eager to please, licking the sides, chasing the pre-seminal liquid with his tongue.
“Nnm—”
“Open your mouth, wide. Good boy.”
Lan Qiren directs the head of his dick into his mouth, and his disciple obeys, sticking his tongue for good measure. The Lan Jingyi of the dream hums in delight at the weight of his fat cock, and sucks it with a long, happy moan.
Lan Jingyi questions his life choices when the sounds of Lan Qiren face-fucking his dream copy start to fill the room. His friends look at him, mortified but in a silent agreement of not telling a soul that they all had their deepest fantasies exposed.
Then, the dreamscape background transforms.
The embarrassed boys notice a familiar room, the same one where they fell asleep.
“Oh no,” whispers Ouyang Zizhen before time stops.
The dream doesn't wait for him.
“Zizhen!”
Dream Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi chirp in one voice, as each takes an arm of the Ouyang Zizhen of the dream. They nuzzle against his sides like happy kittens.
“Now that we are in the room, there’s no need for you to restrain yourselves,” says Dream Zizhen to his Lan Jingyi and Jin Ling, pecking their cheeks. Their real counterparts turn to look at the real Ouyang Zizhen, who hides his face in his hands.
Zizhen! Shameless!
The friends in the dream praise how much they enjoyed Zizhen's latest novel and how lucky they were to get their hands on it before anyone else.
"Can we persuade you to offer us hints for the next part?"
"We won't tell anyone else!"
Dream Zizhen winks at them, ”you know how I like you.”
The ruffle and movements of the sheets and pillows fill the room along with their giggles until they make a little love nest.
“Zizhen,” Dream Jin Ling says as he cradles his head on his lap and caresses his cheek, “you’re so special for me. I adore your patience, your kindness, your hard work, and how you always make time for me.”
“For us. My turn,” Lan Jingyi says in the dream, pecking his Ouyang Zizhen’s lips. “You’re so creative and honest with your heart. So marvelous, bringing out the best in others.”
The rounds of affection are interrupted by the Lan Sizhui from the dream, who offers them a tray of snacks and kisses Ouyang Zizhen's forehead.
“You’re so sweet, our Zizhen.”
Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, and Lan Jingyi notice the bright eyes of their counterparts and can't help but feel at ease at the endearing scene.
Their Zizhen looks at them with a shy smile before they sense a soft and continuous pull in their cores.
They find themselves in the same room where all started.
Ouyang Zizhen rushes to check his writings and papers, runs his fingers over the now-clear pages, and sighs in relief.
“We’re back!”
“How are you so sure?” Lan Jingyi says, checking between the cushions and turning to the long curtains, “what if it’s another dream?”
“The letters are legible, and you don’t seem affected by any external power,” Ouyang Zizhen explains, “don’t you feel different?”
“Not really. So, what was that?”
“I’m not discussing those debauched dreams with you,” Jin Ling huffs, closing his eyes.
“You’re one to talk, young mistress Nie.”
“At least I don’t lust over my senior teachers.”
“Jingyi, A-Ling,” Lan Sizhui calls. “We’ve all been confronted with unseemly scenarios. Zizhen is right. It’s our room.”
Both collapse on the plush cushions, agreeing with Lan Sizhui in one comical unison.
“Zizhen’s dream surprised me. It’s the one we could fulfill, so very innocent,” Lan Jingyi says.
"You could switch positions and be the one to comfort me," Jin Ling says, settling his head on the cushion Zizhen has on his lap.
"J-Jin Ling—"
"Uh. Something is poking me."
Lan Jingyi makes a squeaky sound before bursting out laughing, "Zizhen! You're worse than us!"
He sticks to his side, placing his arms around his waist while the other blushes.
"Anything to erase jiujiu from my mind. I'm up to it," Jin Ling says, turning his body and slightly arching his back until he lies closer, “if the others are too.”
"Of course! And I know Sizhui is in!" Lan Jingyi says with a smirk.
"A-are you offering me, uh, I think—" Ouyang Zizhen stutters.
Lan Sizhui moves closer, with a glint in his eyes. He leans in his space and caresses his cheek.
“You’re so sweet, our Zizhen.”