Come Back to Gusu

29. Of course I'll go.

A few more months passed where Wei WuXian acted like an adult. He did his duties, led night hunts, and studied the Yin Tiger Seal. He needed to learn how to either destroy it or neutralize it before the sects remembered it existed.

"ChengCheng," he wheedled, "I need a teensy favor."

"What?" Jiang WanYin groused; he was practically buried in paperwork.

"I need you to ask Lan XiChen for a favor." He leaned over to look more carefully at the papers; he'd thought he'd seen his name on them. "What's this?" he grabbed one: yes, there was his name. "Why are people writing to you about me?"

Jiang WanYin looked up and rubbed at an ink stain on his wrist. "Marriage proposals. Fifteen this week alone. Being fourth on the list of handsome young masters has gotten you something at last."

"Marriage?" Wei WuXian dropped the page as if it was burning his hand. "I'm not interested in getting married."

"I'm rejecting most of the proposals. There's one I'm considering. It's not a full proposal, it's more of a 'do I think that perhaps this is a good thing because it's either a really good idea or the worst idea ever conceived in the entire history of the world'."

"You can reject that one, too," Wei WuXian made an annoyed/slightly disgusted face. "I'm really not interested in getting married just yet. I'd prefer to actually like my wife before I ask her to marry me."

"I'll give you that," Jiang WanYin promised. "One of us should marry because we actually like the person. A'Jie is discussing my marriage with matchmakers and is looking at what the sect needs to become more stable." He sighed. "What do you need from Lan XiChen?"

"Just a teeny, tiny, itty-bitty favor?" Wei WuXian smiled his finest 'trust me' smile. "I need to destroy the Yin Tiger Seal. I think the best place to do that is the Burial Mounds."

"No."

"Yes. I know how to live there. Especially since I'll bring supplies this time around. And I know how to leave the mountain anytime I wish."

"So how does Lan XiChen fit into your plans? I assume you want Lan WangJi to go with you?"

"Good guess. He's a good listener. I think he can help me destroy it safely."

"Safely?" Jiang WanYin sounded skeptical.

Wei WuXian put even more effort into his 'trust me' smile. "Well... I could just overload it with yin energy. That would probably destroy it. But it would also take down the mountain and everything on it."

"Including you."

"Yes."

"I'll request that Lan WangJi meet you in Yiling. He's a good choice to validate your ideas of what's an acceptable risk. How long do you think it's going to take?"

"Three months? Four? Better to ask for six, though. That way if we finish early, we appear smarter."

"Six months?" Jiang WanYin sounded scandalized. "You want to live in the Burial Mounds, alone with Lan WangJi for six months?"

"It really shouldn't take more than four...." Wei WuXian defended himself, not really sure why the idea of spending several months on the mountain was something to be shocked about. He'd already lived there for three months... alright, he'd subsisted there for three months. He already had preliminary protections already sketched around the Demon Slaughtering Cave; it would be incredibly easy for him and Lan Zhan to strengthen them. They'd bring provisions with them and leave the mountain to get more as needed. It wasn't going to be nearly as difficult as it had after Wen Chao dropped him off there. Why was Jiang WanYin looking at him like that?