WangXian Untamed

Chapter 32 - Inspection

Lan WangJi woke with a headache. At first, he didn't even recognize that was the problem. He'd so seldom had one. And he felt uncomfortable. Why was he laying on his side? His arm had gone to sleep under him, his neck had a crick from an unaccustomed angle and were those his day robes he was wearing, instead of his sleeping robes?

As he fumbled his thoughts together, gradually Lan WangJi remembered the evening before. Ah, that was right. He never undressed for bed. He wasn't holding his Wei Ying, he was being held by him, instead. He let out a low groan. The top of his head hurt, his eyes burned, and his throat was on fire. His nose felt like he was stuffed up with a cold. How peculiar. His Cultivation prevented ordinary illness, his Core dealing with issues before they even reached his consciousness.

Lan WangJi blinked to clear his vision and took stock. Finally, memory flooded back to him of the overwhelming events of the previous evening. He took a deep breath to clear his mind and accessed his Core to clear the miasma in his head and the pressure in his sinuses. Once he felt better, he worked his way out of the tangle of robes and limbs until he pulled free of the bed, and moved the covers over Wei WuXian, who lay undisturbed. Long dark hair spilled like ink across the pillow, and he hadn't even removed his hair ribbon before bed. It lay like a slash across the long, slender neck, and caused Lan WangJi to shudder, even as his sleepy mind realized it was only the ribbon. Haltingly, gently he gently tapped his Core, moved into his usual morning routine and settled to meditation. When he resurfaced, he felt calmer and more collected. Strong enough to face what the coming day might bring.

Moving back to the bed, Lan WangJi shook Wei WuXian to wake him. Gently at first, but with more force when gentle was not effective. Wei WuXian wasn't easy to awaken on the best of days, and today he fought the waking with all his weary might. Even so, eventually he surfaced. Heavy eyelids drooped over bleary silver eyes, dark circles beneath as clear as if painted on the too-pale skin. Even his usually red lips looked wan and lacked their usual vibrant colour.

Quieter than usual, the men prepared for their day. When the breakfast dishes were once more on a tray for Lan WangJi to leave at the kitchens on his way to the Main Hall to meet with Lan XiChen, Wei WuXian moved into his arms and held him tight. The men stood together, warm and comfortable, as each stored up the physical memory of each other to carry with them through the day apart.

"Are you better this morning, my love?" asked Wei WuXian, placing a light kiss on the soft underside of his husband's jaw.

"Mn," responded Lan WangJi. "About last night... I love you," he apologized for being overwhelmed and breaking down.

"I love you, too," Wei WuXian accepted the unnecessary apology. "I'm here if you need me."

After Lan WangJi left, Wei WuXian took the envelope of pellets and went to his new workroom. Setting the envelope on the desk, he brought over a basket containing a number of tiny dishes and set to work. One way or another, he was determined to find out just what was in these mysterious pellets, what they were meant to do, and if they had any connection to the Grandmaster's precipitous fall into Qi deviation. Despite being at odds far too frequently for comfort - differing perspectives made for difficult interactions - Wei WuXian did not make the mistake of dismissing Lan QiRen's standards. He knew that the Grandmaster would never neglect the state of his Cultivation and was entirely convinced that if his Qi had been even slightly off kilter, the rigid old man would immediately devote extra attention and meditation to restoring the appropriate balance.

So, first things first. What on earth are these things?

Wei WuXian placed each pellet in a separate tiny dish, until they were laid out upon the long edge of his desk. In total there were 11 and no way to know how many were originally in the envelope, nor how many Lan QiRen may or may not have ingested. Wei WuXian began by labelling each dish, identifying each pellet by number. Pulling out parchment and preparing ink and a brush, he began to make his notes.