The Path In-Between

Chapter 13: Journey Home

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! So sorry for the late update. Enjoy traveling with Wei Wuxian as he journeys from the many homes of his previous life!

Warning: Mild gore, pain, references to abuse, mental/physical abuse, depressed behavior etc.
~worldlesswanderer

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Tarrap, Tarrap. Tarrap, Tarrap.

A'Ying looked up from the straw dolls he had been playing with. Although its clothing was dark and crumbling, the three dolls were of the closest resemblance to A'Ying's family.

A'Ying looked up to be captured by wide golden-colored eyes. A'Ying had never seen anyone with eyes the color of the sun! A'Ying had seen only seen different eyes that his mama had. They used to be like the moon and the taels that rich people used to buy stuff.

The pretty gege in front of A'Ying was dressed in the whitest of robes and had a long white piece of ribbon wrapped around his forehead. Pretty gege had been playing with a toy drum that A'Ying had tried to get from a nearby shopkeeper earlier, but was chased away by his dogs instead.

A'Ying stared at the pretty gege. A'Ying knew that young masters who wore rich stuff like gege did were not safe in the slums. They'd be robbed and kidnapped! So he asked his gege why he was here.

"Is gege lost?"

Pretty gege didn't say anything. He just stared at A'Ying before shyly nodding just a little. A'Ying brightened up! Maybe gege just didn't like to talk much.

"It's okay! A'Ying lives here. A'Ying knows every corner of the place so gege will find his family! Don't worry!"

Pretty gege's eyes widened a little and then he smiled at A'Ying. But the moment was interrupted as pretty gege's head snapped up at something that was yelled from outside the alley.

"A'Zhan! Where are you?"

Pretty gege turned to the sound of the voice and hesitated as he turned around to look at A'Ying with apologetic eyes. A'Ying smiled bravely.

"Don't worry gege! A'Ying will be fine!"

Then, Pretty gege curled the ends of his lips upward once more and thrust the toy drum into A'Yings hands before turning around and running to the source of the voice that had called him.

A'Ying stared after pretty gege long after he had left. After a few days, the brattier young masters had come and bullied him. They took the gift that pretty gege had given him with them.

And so, A'Ying's first home were the Yiling streets.

Wei Wuxian awoke with a gasp, breathing in huge gulps of crisp air. He quickly staggered up into a meditative posture. Crossing his legs and taking deep breaths to calm himself, the first thing he noticed was that he was not cold. Warm aqueous energy was flowing through his veins, his dantian was glowing with replenished fervor. His golden core spun to life.

The shock of being able to use spiritual qi shook Wei Wuxian's mind as he snapped open his eyes. A small cupboard-like room surrounded him. Thin slivers of warm sunlight seeped through a small window covered by deep purple curtains. He was sitting on the clothed mattress that had worn down from use since his childhood years. Above him was the picture of two androgynous people kissing each other that he had meticulously carved onto the bedpost when he was thirteen.