The Demonic Clan of Yiling (MDZS Fanfic)

The Affairs of Baling (Pt.3)

The first few rounds were easy for all of them. Clearly whoever had come up with the pairings thought they were just scrawny kids like most of the others. Either way it was obvious that the organiser had an untrained eye and little understanding of the sects, because they couldn't even recognise the small group of sect leaders' sons. The funny thing was that none of the four boys had been paired up yet. So, most of the time, they could watch the others' matches and cheer them on.

Zizhen had quickly gotten over his grumpy mood after his second round. Getting more and more riled up with every match he and his friends won. He enjoyed it even more when some of his disciples started giving him weary glances.

Unlike in other sects, the Baling Sect Leaders's children didn't train with the rest of their disciples. So no of them knew Zizhen's true strength. There were even rumours that Zizhen was weaker than a child and that was why he trained separately. Fuck were they wrong. Neither Zizhen nor any of his friends were even showing a sweat. They just grinned like maniacs.

"Fucker..." Cheung spat as he watched Zizhen win another round. "He's supposed to be weak!" He turned to face the timid looking Taio with a furious look on his face.

"I-I never said he was weak!" Taio spluttered feeling all of the others glaring at him like he was the one who had started the rumour. 

In reality, Taio hardly ever spoke about Zizhen. It was just known that the two of them lived in the mansion and people must have assumed they interacted regularly. Everyone always asked him about gossip on Zizhen, like he was holding all the information that would ruin the future sect leader's chance at taking over from his father. He couldn't understand why no one liked Zizhen. He was nice, despite having hundreds of reasons not to like Taio, he still treated him politely. So why did they treat him so wrong?

"Fuck it!" Cheung suddenly said causing Taio to jolt out of his thoughts. "I'm sure it's a fluke. If any of us get paired against him, then he's screwed. Everyone he's been up against so far are just weak. We'll knock him out of this competition."

---<~>---

Zizhen ignored the burning feeling on the back of his neck. Knowing fully well that it was Cheung and his group of disciples staring at him. He had just won against an adult, and it was easy. Sure, he was pretty skinny, but it was still a good feeling to have. 

"Don't get cocky now." Jin Ling grinned as the older boy approached him. "You still have to go up against the rest of us."

"Oh, I know. I can't wait!" Zizhen chuckled

A few moments later, the other two came over with hands full of some more drinks. Jingyi chatting happily to a smiling Sizhui as they waded through the tight crowd. Zizhen took a cup from Sizhui once Jingyi finished talking. The two of them exchanged a smile, Sizhui noticing the soft tinge of a blush on Zizhen's cheeks when their eyes locked. Cute...  

"Those Darlings sure are good at their job." Jingyi said once he finished taking a sip from his cup. "I was watching them at the bar, they just kept swooping in and getting people to buy things. Even a woman who came in to cheer her husband on was charmed by them." 

"They are charming." Sizhui nodded in agreement. Again, noticing the dark look come over Zizhen's face. 

"I wonder what it's like talking to them. It looks nice..." Jingyi thought out loud, but then a sharp pain shot through his leg, and he keeled over to grab at his knee. "What the fuck Jin Ling!?" He winced through gritted teeth.

"What? Maybe now your stupid leg is hurt they'll notice you and kiss it better." Jin Ling grumbled his face, tinged pink from the alcohol he had consumed or maybe it was rage?

"Hey that's actually a pretty good ide- Oww! Don't kick me again what have I done!?" 

Zizhen sipped his drink watching closely as the two younger boys bickered. If he was stupid, he would think that Jin Ling was just punishing Jingyi for breaking the Lan rules about flirting and whatever else there was. But Zizhen had read enough novels to know there was something else behind Jin Ling's actions. Though he wasn't even sure Jin Ling knew what it was.

"Wei Sizhui!"

"Lan Jingyi?"

Two different voices called their names making them all fall silent.

"Looks like it's time to go again." Sizhui grinned, handing his empty cup to Zizhen. "Do you need help walking over to your table?" He asked Jingyi as he limped by.

"I'm fine." Jingyi mumbled.

"Fucking idiot..." Jin Ling sighed from next to Zizhen.

"Don't like it when your best friend speaks to pretty girls then?" Zizhen smirked at Jin ling.

"Neither do you."

"Yeah well... These girls are different."

---<~>---

"Wei bastard!" The boy shouts as Sizhui began to push his arm down to the table with a calm look on his face.

"Can we not drag our sects into this?" Sizhui asked politely earning a glare from his opponent. Why was everyone glaring at him today? 

"Are you actually Wei Wuxian's kid?" The other boy asked, fighting desperately to keep his arm up.

"Yeah, He is my father."

"Who's your mother?"

"I don't remember." Sizhui answered honestly. He didn't remember much of his birth parents. His mother died a few months before Wen Ning was turned, and his father had died sometime during the Sunshot Campine. He was too young to have tangible memories of them.

"Probably some fucking whore if she was willing to sleep with Wei Wuxian..." The boy spat.

It took a few seconds for Sizhui to realise what the other boy had said. The various ooos and ahhs from the crowd forcing his thoughts back to what he was doing. When it did register a dark look came over his face and before the other boy could do anything, Sizhui had his arm pinned to the table in a vice like grip. 

"Say anything like that to me again and I'll rip your tongue out and feed it to my corpses." He warned, leaning in close to the other boy's ear to get the point across. "That goes to all of you." He turned to the crowd before heading back over to his friends.

Jingyi was already done with his match. His Lan strength disarmed pretty much anyone and because he was still waiting on a growth spurt, he seemed a lot less threatening than he was.

"That was fucking rude." Jin Ling crossed his arms, watching the now shaking boy Sizhui had left at the table.

"What did you do to him? He looks like he's about to cry." Zizhen added noticing the boy's eyes filling up.

"Infused my words with resentment to make sure he knew I was serious." Sizhui shrugged, making Jingyi snort out in laughter.

As Jingyi chuckled to himself, Zizhen found his eyes landing on the figure now helping Sizhui's opponent away. Cheung...