Chapter Text
The rooms that the senior lead him to were very well appointed, elegant and tasteful in whites and blues. There were numerous books and scrolls, all neatly organized on the shelves, but this was clearly a scholar's office.
"I am Lan Qiren." The senior introduced himself once they were seated, and he'd set the tea kettle to heat. Wei Wuxian could feel his cheeks paling - every time someone told him how lucky he was to not be a Lan, they mentioned the strictness of Lan Qiren, and the grudge Lan Qiren carried against Cangse Sanren. He hadn't sounded like a man with a grudge just moments ago, but... everyone said so. He'd heard this most of his life.
Wei Wuxian bowed as respectfully as he knew how - if there's one thing Madam Yu's frequent punishments were good for, it was learning how to be very, very respectful.
Lan Qiren looked pleased at that, at least. Or... well, Wei Wuxian was pretty sure that was a pleased expressions. Lans were a bit difficult to read, it turned out. That could be a factor in making the next year difficult. Wei Wuxian relied heavily on reading the expressions of those around him to figure out exactly where the lines of propriety truly were.
"And yes, decades ago, I knew your parents. I may have some stories of them that you haven't heard yet, if you would like them." With elegant, well-practiced motions, Lan Qiren sets the tea to steep.
"Ah... well, I don't... want to bother, um. Anyone. For stories. So. I don't really have many?" He answered, hesitantly, awkwardly. It's not quite the truth. He once asked frequently, to anyone he thought might know.
Madam Yu had put an end to that quickly. There had been no attempts after that.
"I know mother was a rogue cultivator, taught by Baoshen Sanren." Wei Wuxian offered, feeling he had to prove he wasn't somehow being purposefully unfilial. "And father was a servant in the Jiang sect. I remember we had a donkey, at one point. I remember her laugh." At some point his recitation became less factual and more wistful - those memories were just tiny, glittering fragments, and he hoarded them carefully.
"Your mother did love to laugh. Some would say indecorously, but those were usually the same people she was laughing at. She was unflinching in supporting the truth, and had the skills to back her words. She would have been a credit to any sect she chose to join, but she preferred the freedom of making personal choices rather than relying on the sect she belonged to to be honorable for her." Lan Qiren, the person Wei Wuxian had been told for years was the chief amongst all those who disliked his mother, was unstinting in his praise. It floored Wei Wuxian, who accepted the cup of tea Lan Qiren handed him without even looking at it.
It was thus, with him looking as witless as a fish left gasping on the dock, that Wei Wuxian met the most beautiful man in the world a second time. He'd only had a brief interaction at the gates, and he'd been irritated on shijie's behalf at the time, so he hadn't had the wit to recognize that this second Jade of Lan was truly wonderful.
Said beautiful man, after bowing to Lan Qiren, sent a questioning look Wei Wuxian's way.
"I have given him permission to be here, and will make sure he is returned to his quarters later. There is no issue. You may give me your full report in the morning, Lan Wangji." Lan Qiren ordered. Lan Wangji (the most beautiful man had a beautiful name too, that was fitting) didn't look entirely convinced, but he left without complaint.
Lan Qiren harrumphed, breaking into Wei Wuxian's thoughts after he ended up spending too long staring at the closed door Lan Wangji left through.
"I will tell you more about your parents, but I also have a project for you." Lan Qiren announced, and Wei Wuxian sat up straighter. Lectures hadn't even begun, and he had homework?
"You're going to write an explanation of how you got past the wards so I can report to the elders. And then you're going to tell me how to fix the problem." Lan Qiren announced, and Wei Wuxian tensed. Up until very recently, he wouldn't have said he cared about Lan Qiren's opinion. But now?
Now he was terribly anxious that he'd managed to upset this man before he knew that he desperately want to.
"You do remember how you managed it, do you not?" Lan Qiren asked, one eyebrow raised querulously. Wei Wuxian hastened to settle himself again, and nodded. It was maybe (entirely) an over-eager nod, more fitting for a child than a Head Disciple, but he told himself that he's had a very trying night, and frankly he should be rewarded for keeping his wits about him as well as he had.
"Yes, Lanlaoshi." Wei Wuxian answered, with another textbook-perfect bow from where he knelt.
"Very well. I will see to it the librarians know of your project, and will aid you in finding any material you require, excepting any of the forbidden texts. There should be no reason you need those to explain what you did tonight, or to come up with alternates." Lan Qiren added, his tone knowing - as if he'd somehow heard Wei Wuxian's instant thought that he'd love to see what the Lan Sect considered a forbidden book. Before he could think of how to ask politely, Lan Qiren was standing. He hurried to jump to his feet, following Lan Qiren's lead back out into Cloud Recesses. There was a patrol, but they didn't even raise an eyebrow as Lan Qiren led him past. Before too long he was lead to a particular set of quarters, and after a brisk knock at the door, it was Jiang Cheng who appeared.
A Jiang Cheng who very clearly did not expect to be coming face to face with a Lan elder at this hour of the night. His disgruntled expression very quickly disappeared under a panicked sort of politeness, and a hurried bow. Wei Wuxian stifled a giggle behind his hand, knowing that Jiang Cheng would be more than happy to complain later.
"Make sure you are both on time for the presentation ceremony tomorrow, young masters. Good evening." Wei Wuxian made sure his bow as Lan Qiren turned to leave was picture-perfect. It meant that once Lan Qiren was gone, Jiang Cheng was able to snag him by the back of his robes and haul him back into their rooms for the next year before he could do more than squawk.
And then he remembered.
Lan Qiren had his wine.
Well, that was a bit upsetting.
The next few days were very confusing for Wei Wuxian. The lectures...
The lectures were so disappointing. Ever since he learned he would be attending along with the rest of the Jiang convoy, he was excited to learn in the clan known for their scholarship. What he found, however, was a painfully dry recitation of facts. Answers were expected to be directly out of the book, whether a better answer might be available with a with a little bit of thought or not. It dragged at his nerves, and made each day inside the classroom became a unique sort of torture. The only bright spots were whatever nonsense Nie Huiasang came up with, and watching Lan Wangji be icily perfect day after day.
Lan Qiren was also confusing. He did not stand for any disruption of his classroom, or any variation in the answers given to his questions. He seemed to have a sixth sense for when Wei Wuxian was about to try and pull a prank, and always seemed to be ready to intercept it, or squash it before Wei Wuxian could even properly get set up. His expressions in those moments, however, were almost... disappointed? Not that Wei Wuxian was acting up, that seemed almost expected, but... it was odd, too odd to be truth, but the teacher seemed almost disappointed that the pranks weren't more... impressive? Or subtle? It was the first time someone seemed to even suggest that he improve his pranking ability, and Wei Wuxian was deeply thrown. He started spending more time in his notes, trying to come up with a prank that might meet his teacher's bizarrely high standards for such things.
After lectures, however... Jiang Cheng was disappointed, but he had to accept that Lan Qiren had given him a very clear project, and Wei Wuxian was determined to fulfill it to the best of his ability. This gave him free run of the library, which was bliss. Even better, Lan Wangji often arrived while he was there - rumor said he was there to keep Wei Wuxian from creating too much chaos, but whatever the reason was, he was pleased to have the company. Lan Wangji never seemed to mind if Wei Wuxian bounced his ideas off of him - he rarely answered, not really, but he also didn't protest.
And he kept coming back.
After a month, Wei Wuxian finished his project - explaining how he got past the wards was the easy part. Explaining how to keep it from happening again... well, he'd never met any of the Lan clan elders besides Lan Qiren. He didn't know what they'd like. So he came up with three options - different anchors, different ward bases, different ways of keying the wards to those they wanted to allow in.
He tried to keep some of the same themes as the usual Lan work, so it blended well with the existing structures of Cloud Recesses. He made very sure, however, that any attempt to follow the usual course of Lan spellwork would set off some nasty traps. After all, now that he was challenged to it, Wei Wuxian was determined to be the last person to sneak into Cloud Recesses. He had a record to defend now!
It was with some regret that he headed to Lan Qiren's office with his report. Of course, he was excited to spend more time with Jiang Cheng, but it had been... wonderful, in a way he couldn't explain to anyone and not sound horribly ungrateful for his usual life. Which wasn't true! He loved being the Head Disciple of the Jiang, he loved going on night hunts, loved teaching his shidi and shimei, loved having a hand in how Lotus Pier was run and feeling it humming all around him. He just also loved being allowed to explore his creativity, to play with talismans and wards and know there was someone would want to look at the results. Still, he didn't drag his feet as he approached Lan Qiren's office. He was the Head Disciple of Yunmeng Jiang, he knew security was important to each sect, and he since he was the one to bring the weakness in the wards around Cloud Recesses to Lan Qiren's attention (on accident), it was good that he also was able to tell them how to fix them.
He knocked politely on the door, and waited.
The door was opened by the most beautiful man in the world. Lan Wangji gave him a somewhat unimpressed look, no doubt thinking he was here to cause some sort of problem. Someone must have told him about all of the punishments he received in Lotus Pier - he felt that was unfair, he hadn't really done anything truly worthy of punishment while here.
Well.
Other than breaking in.
And fidgeting in class.
And sometimes being caught running.
And sometimes being too loud when Lans felt it should be more quiet.
...
Maybe there were some things.
"Let him enter, Wangji." Lan Qiren called from within, and Lan Wangji obediently stood aside. Wei Wuxian gave him a reassuring grin as he passed. Lan Wangji failed to look reassured. Rude.
"Good afternoon, Lanlaoshi." Wei Wuxian greeted, bowing properly. "I have the report you wanted."
Lan Qiren waved for him to sit, and he did so as gracefully as he could - so much time in the library had left him with some tightness in his lower back that he was going to need to beat out of his muscles on the training field later. Jiang Cheng was going to have fun trouncing him. Lan Qiren frowned - he must have been expecting the report earlier. He tried to be efficient, but there was just so much information in the library - he kept getting new ideas, and had trouble picking out the best ones! As usual, he probably shouldn't have spent so long playing around.
He slid his report across the table, hoping that his very best attempt at good calligraphy would at least earn him some credit. Lan Qiren had already seen enough of his usual handwriting to surely know this was an improvement.
"And when do you expect to have the improvement options completed?" Lan Qiren asked, as he picked up the stack of papers.
"Oh, they're there, they start about ten pages in? There's diagrams as well. If... if that helps." The last time someone had seen any of his ward ideas, it had been Madam Yu, and she'd been so irate he'd even think about messing with Lotus Pier's wards that she'd kept him kneeling in the ancestral hall for over a day. The memory of that particular punishment was making him nervous.
"Wangji." Lan Qiren gestured to the space beside him, and as finished each page, he handed it off to Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian's nervousness doubled - was that good? Was it bad? Was he about to be thrown out for daring to suggest such drastic changes? He didn't want to go. While the lectures weren't anything like he expected, but everything else? Sure, there were more rules than anyone could be expected to remember in one lifetime, but the punishments for breaking said rules were reasonable, and predictable. Cloud Recesses was calm and orderly. The food was atrocious, but Caiyi Town was right there, and he'd already found an inn that served food spicy enough to even challenge him.
He kept any pleading to be allowed to stay behind his teeth. He absolutely refused to beg. He'd done his best - if that wasn't good enough... maybe it was better if he left.
(Madam Yu would be so furious)
He surfaced from his own thoughts to realize the two Lan were watching him curiously. All of the papers were neatly stacked again, once again in Lan Qiren's hands. Had they said something and he missed it? He might have. They looked expectant.
"Um. So..." He waffled, trying to figure out how to ask what was said without asking. He didn't want to make it obvious that he hadn't been listening at all.
"Wei Wuxian!" Lan Qiren barked, and Wei Wuxian straightened sharply. "I asked who helped you?"
"... some of the librarians helped me find some of the books I used as reference?" Wei Wuxian hedged, not entirely sure what Lan Qiren meant. "And Lan Wangji was kind enough to let me bounce ideas off him, that was very helpful."
"You did all of this, yourself, in a month?" Lan Qiren sounded confused, but at least it seemed they were now on the same page. He was, however, extremely leery about veering away from the truth at all when this felt so potentially dangerous. The hesitation earned a narrowed look from Lan Qiren.
"Wei Wuxian?" The question was stern, but not entirely unkind. Wei Wuxian decided to risk it.
"Well, there were a few other ideas for the wards, but I didn't think they were as good as these, so I left them out. I could go get them, if you like. I haven't written a clean copy for them though, so... um. I think they're legible?" He offered, worried. Would Lan Qiren be upset he hadn't given up all of the material? Madam Yu would have accused him of withholding vital information. He supposed it could be that.
"I would be interested in seeing them. At a different time, sit down, Wei Wuxian." Lan Qiren hurried to add when Wei Wuxian moved to push himself up immediately. "Have you slept at all?"
"... As much as usual? Or, I guess, a little less? But I don't usually have to get up so early in Lotus Pier, so... there's that?" Wei Wuxian was thrown by the question - was some of his logic in the ward development wonky? He knew the flavor of his thoughts when he was sleep deprived, and he hadn't ever felt like that, really.
"Young master Wei, if you are capable of work like this, why aren't you excelling in class?" Lan Qiren asked. Wei Wuxian tried not to grimace. He'd hoped it wouldn't come up. Jiang Cheng spent enough time giving him grief for how many times he'd been lectured about fiddling around with his scribbled ideas and theorizing outside the bounds of the class and just generally being himself.
"Um. I mean. It's just..." He sighed - there was no way to say this that wouldn't be taken badly. He hoped the Lan didn't go in for whipping. He was enjoying the break.
"I'm bored? I'm sorry, Lanlaoshi, I've known everything we've gone over, other than the Lan sect rules, for years." He refused to cringe when he said it, presenting the thickest face he could.
The silence after his honest explanation was absolute. It stretched on for what felt like eons, and it took every scrap of restraint Wei Wuxian had ever developed to keep him from fidgeting or adding more to his explanation. It was so quiet, he could hear Nie Huaisang complaining somewhere nearby about being dragged off to the training grounds.
"My apologies, Young Master Wei. I should have recognized you were getting bored - I will adjust your assignments accordingly. You may want to warn Young Master Nie that he will no longer be able to use your test answers to help himself along, as you will be receiving the same tests as Lan Wangji from now on." Wei Wuxian blinked, not sure if he should be more impressed that Lan Wangji was also in a more advanced class, or worried that Lan Qiren had spotted his attempts to help Nie Huaisang through tests.
"Now, you are to spend the rest of the day resting, after you see the healers." Lan Qiren ordered, "And after class tomorrow I will give you the reward you were promised."
"... The healers?" Wei Wuxian asked, confused. "Is Jiang Yanli alright?" His worry spiked - he knew Jiang Cheng was fine, he'd seen his shidi right before coming here, so it must be shijie.
"Jiang Yanli?" Lan Qiren echoed, clearly confused. Wei Wuxian blinked, confused right back at him.
"Well, I know Jiang Ch... Wanyin is fine, I just saw him, so it must be shijie at the healers?" He offered, not at all sure where his logic would be flawed here.
"She is fine, as far as I know. But you should not be moving like that at the level of cultivation you should be for your age and evident talent." Wei Wuxian opened his mouth to protest, but he didn't really have a good excuse. The observation wasn't anything that any half-decent trainer wouldn't have said. He would have also sent any of his shidi or shimei that moved awkwardly during what should be every-day motions off to the healers to make sure there weren't underlying issues.
"Ah. Yes, Lanlaoshi." He agreed - he wasn't unfamiliar with trips to the healers as a disciple who was frequently sent on night hunts. He would just explain what had gone wrong, and be sent off for rest, maybe with some sort of absolutely foul tea. No problem.