Chapter Text
It had not been easy. The journey had been a long, rough path, one with all manner of pitfalls and sharp-edged emotional debris. The once somewhat shaded path of brotherhood had been hit by the tsunami of war and tragedy, leaving a mess of hurt, miscommunication, pain, loss, and longing in its wake.
But for Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin, at least the truth had let the old festering wounds finally heal. And after a while, one of them had reached out, and the other had reached back. Neither of them wanted the path to stay blocked, and so slowly they started to clean it up. Each awkward conversion and strained meeting might have been hard, but slowly, some ease returned to their interactions.
After all, they were both Jiang at heart. They strove to achieve what others would call impossible.
And so it came, that after a year and a half, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng had mended their brotherhood into something new. It might jet be a far cry from what they had once shared, but it was something.
Their interactions still felt stiff and awkward, but they had progressed to the point where now Wei Wuxian could come and go from Lotus Pier as he pleased.
Though most importantly, they had finalized a plan to go on a night hunt together again.
Alone.
No little Junior disciples to watch their every move. Granted, there was always the possibility of Jin Ling and Fairy showing up out of nowhere since they never ever seemed to be where they were actually supposed to be, but sect leader duties had managed to curb their wanderings at least to a degree. But most importantly, no overbearing cultivation partners breathing down Jiang Cheng’s neck!
Though he would never admit it out loud, Jiang Cheng had been looking forward to this for weeks. He had made sure to pick out an interesting night hunt for them as well. Nothing that promised to be overly dangerous, or Hanguang Jun would find a way to swoop down on them, but something unique that appeared strange in a way that was guaranteed to pique Wei Wuxian's curiosity.
It started out fine. One of the local farmers complained about a whole herd of sheep that had turned into lambs again overnight. He had despaired over not being able to feed them and had already made plans to sell or slaughter them when they had aged enough to get by without milk the next morning.
His exasperation and relief were evident in his vivid retelling, and he also pointed them to a case of a vanished beloved household pet and an ornery old woman up and leaving never to be seen again.
There had been suspicions cast on a young woman passing through, who had seemed quite mad and had not stopped cackling at half the villagers, but Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian had determined that the curse was far more likely to be of Yao origin than human.
The investigation brought them to a stream the herd of sheep that had been affected drank from regularly, and they followed it carefully, looking for clues.
When they did find it, it was very obvious.
They had fallen in step naturally over the last minutes and came to a halt at the same time.
They both stared wide-eyed, and Wei Wuxian let out a soft “Oh.”
The tree was glorious, laden over and over with small white blossoms blooming out of season, and even as they watched a handful of petals floated softly to the ground.
It stood in the middle of a clearing, and sunlight was gently illuminating its soft green leaves, still young and unblemished.
Jiang Wanyin had to swallow, and tears came unbidden to his eyes.
When he spoke, his voice came out in a croak.
“It’s old. It's very, very old.”
“Yes.”
They started circling it, wonder in their eyes.
And indeed it seemed to be ancient, the limbs hanging with lichen and moss, the trunk scarred and cracked.
Not even the smallest twigs were free of growth, and it felt like the branches would crack any moment from the heavy load of blossoms.
The awe and reverence they felt were slowly mingling with sadness and melancholy.
Wei Wuxian's voice trembled with emotion when he spoke.
“It’s not just old. It's dying. I think it's almost there, just a little more and it would have cultivated to godhood. But in the end, time was harsher. This is its last bloom.”
That would explain the overwhelming, careless beauty, and also the feeling of loss that settled so deep in Jiang Wanyin's chest that he felt sure he would never be able to feel happiness again.
He shook his head and sighed.
“Alright. I suppose there is little else to do than warn the villagers not to let anyone close until the last blossoms have fallen. It's not going to be long now, and any effects were temporary as far as we can tell. We should- WEI WUXIAN!!!”
Adrenalin surged through him, and together with the sudden panic cleared out most of the spell lingering on him. But his martial brother had always, always been the more empathic one, and this was exactly the kind of thing that he could never resist.
Jiang Wanyin leaped forward, tackling Wei Wuxian around the middle, and throwing him bodily away from the tree.
“Wei Wuxian! Snap out of it, Wei Wuxian! For fuck's sake, tell me you didn’t touch it! WEI WUXIAN!”
The eyes staring up at him were blank and unseeing.
His pulse was strong.
On his fingertip, fine marks shaped like the age rings of a tree were slowly spreading upward.
Jiang Wanyin had been too late.
He looked around wildly and scooped up his martial brother with gentle hands. The head lolled to the side listlessly, and cold spread through Jiang Wanyin's veins.
“Fuck this, Wei Wuxian! This is ridiculous even for you. You can not be doing this to me! I swear to every damn god out there, if you don’t snap out of this I will drown you in the lake myself!!! “
Again, there was no response.
He snarled at the tree, and considered setting it on fire for a long moment, but decided he had to get Wei Wuxian to safety first. Everything else could be dealt with later.
He carefully stepped onto Sandu, and slung his brother's arm over his shoulder, one hand on his waist. Like this, he could feel the breath on his cheeks and exhaled.
Wei Wuxian was still alive.
“Your fucking Hanguang Jun is going to lock you up for good if we don’t fix this right now. He is finally going to snap, and you are going down in history as the second Madam Lan, never to be seen again. Any you would deserve it too, you asshole.”
The wind whipped in his face as he flew faster and higher, back into the direction of Yunmeng. He could not help clutching his brother tighter and tighter, and if his face grew wet, it was from the moisture of the low-hanging clouds, and nothing else.
The flight back to Lotus Pier felt unbearably long, and when it finally, finally came into view in the gray hours before dawn, he felt the weight on his shoulders lift.
He clenched his arms tighter around his brother's form upon the landing, and with a sinking feeling realized how slim it still felt.
He could hear his heart thundering in his chest and was gripped with the sudden depressing thought that this would be the last time he would ever be left alone with Wei Wuxian for all eternity.
And when he looked down, he saw that it had not been the weight of fear that had lifted at all.
In the cradle of his arms, two innocent and confused gray eyes blinked up at him from the face of a small child.