xicheng - in the Cloud Recesses, Lan Xichen ends up becoming Jiang Cheng's music tutor.

While a cultivator is defined by their cultivation and martial skills, required to subdue the demonic and resentful, the pinnacle of knowledge and refinement is still the six arts.

Among them, music - an area GusuLan excels in, having merged it with cultivation to serve combat and purification purposes. A variety of music lessons are conducted in the Cloud Recesses, depending on the instrument, and all gentlemanly disciples and heirs are expected to learn

and perform acceptably in at least one instrument.

Wei Wuxian, unsurprisingly, does well. He was always more musical as compared to Jiang Cheng, humming tunes as he strode about, singing and dancing to folk tunes, fashioning flutes out of bamboo to play music.

When they arrive at the Cloud Recesses, their placement tests have Wei Wuxian - unsurprisingly - in flute classes, while Jiang Cheng is left to miserably attempt the remaining instruments and do poorly in them all.

The Six Arts are borrowed from outside of the cultivation world,

where ordinary people unable to unlock the secrets of cultivation worried themselves with ascending to the imperial palace. While music is respected in YunMeng Jiang, as is in the other Great Sects, it was never truly emphasized, and Jiang Cheng feels hot shame trickling down

his neck at his abysmal music ability. It should be an honour to have the esteemed Zewu-jun, the First Jade of Lan, offer to give him personal music lessons - but as the only one to need it, all Jiang Cheng feels is shame. He is the heir to the Jiang Sect, yet is so entirely

lacking in this area. Swallowing the bitterness he feels, Jiang Cheng takes the xiao given to him and raises it to his lips.

(Lan Xichen's specialty was the xiao - at least it wasn't the dizi, which Wei Wuxian played, and Jiang Cheng would never take up the guqin, not when he

would have to take lessons from the human ice-block Lan Wangji otherwise, and spend hours in tense, icy silence.)

Jiang Cheng feels like a child as Lan Xichen carefully arranges his fingers over the holes of the flute, and no matter what, he cannot lose control of his temper

and show himself to be even more disgraceful than he already is. He is a Sect Heir, being taught by another Sect Heir, who has graciously offered him his time.

They spend the entire first lesson teaching him to hold the xiao, teaching him how to breathe in increasingly absurd

ways, lying down and breathing, bending over while seated in chairs to force the diaphragm to breathe - "Draw from your center, the same way you mediate," Lan Xichen encourages, and Jiang Cheng feels pathetic in his admission of "I'm not skilled in meditation-" because he would

rather spend time training and sparring than sitting still and trying to clear his mind while fighting to stay awake-

"On my count, breathe in-" Lan Xichen patiently instructs, and Jiang Cheng feels the blood rushing to his head held at his ankles-

"and out - in, and out-"

Jiang Cheng feels a hand on his back, and feels hot at embarrassment, he isn't doing this correctly-

"Do you feel my hand being lifted up? That's how it should be. Good job, Jiang Wanyin."

-oh? Jiang Cheng blinks, face flushing red from the blood

flowing downward, naturally, and finally understands how he is supposed to breathe, similar to how he would draw breath in the midst of running.

"Just apply the same technique to playing the instrument, and you will not run out of air as quickly." Lan Xichen says cheerfully.

The beginner's lesson is over, Jiang Cheng knows how to hold the xiao, how to breathe - he spends some time awkwardly sitting in a chair, bending over and hugging his ankles to remember what it felt like, but whenever he tries to actually play the instrument, all he gets are

these pathetic wheezing noises, instead of a sharp and clear note, and nothing happens the harder he blows except for appearing like a particularly undignified squirrel, his cheeks puffed out and saliva flying.

"How was your lessons with Zewu-jun?" Wei Wuxian, the nosy idiot,

asks, and Jiang Cheng just grumbles 'none of your business.' He'd rather keep his musical ineptitude between himself and his tutor, even if said tutor is Zewu-jun, than reveal it to someone like Wei Wuxian.

"I could probably help you out, you know, I play the dizi!"

"They're not even the same instrument!" He retorts. Actually, he has no idea if the technique is similar - they're both flutes, aren't they? - but he really, really doesn't Wei Wuxian to get involved.

He spends the rest of the week doing the breathing exercises taught to him - mentally counting the seconds as he takes in air and slowly blows it all out. Good breathing is the foundation of music, Lan Xichen had said, and he'll fucking excel in breathing the next time they meet.

The next lesson starts with yet another ridiculous breathing exercise, Jiang Cheng once again reminded that they use this with kids - in which Lan Xichen hands him a small piece of paper and tells him to keep it up against the wall with only his jet of air. Jiang Cheng furrows

his brow, holds it in place against the wall, and blows hard, the piece held in place when he removes his hand. He keeps blowing, forcing himself to hold on as long as possible, even as his lungs scream for air and the world begins to tilt -

and hands grasp his shoulders,

steadying him. He gasps, sucking in sweet air, and the paper flutters to the floor. "That was an admirable capacity of air, Jiang Wanyin. You did not need to deprive yourself to the point of vertigo, however." Lan Xichen says politely.

Jiang Cheng grunts, though he can't lie,

it's nice to be complimented. "Wei Wuxian and I used to compete over how long we could hold our breaths when we were swimming." He said, and Lan Xichen's eyes crinkle.

"We also tell the children that swimming is an ideal exercise for learning breath control."

"No wonder you have caught up so quickly." Lan Xichen concludes, and Jiang Cheng isn't sure if he's imagined that note of approval in his voice or not.

Now that he has fucking mastered breathing, they move on to actually attempting to play the instrument - and hit an instant

roadblock, playing the same sad and pathetic noises on the practice xiao he's been given. Lan Xichen tries to explain the proper embouchure - mouth position - to him as much as he can, but Jiang Cheng still struggles, feeling more and more discouraged the longer time drags on.

He feels tears well up in his eyes and rapidly blinks them away - he cannot show weakness, especially how easily frustrated he gets.

"If I may-" Lan Xichen says, and suddenly there are fingers touching him, touching his mouth, and Jiang Cheng stares directly at Zewu-jun with

shock, Lan Xichen's eyes shuttering and blinking before refocusing his attentions to Jiang Cheng's lips, gently coaxing his lower lip forward with a thumb. "Try blowing gentler." He instructs, and Jiang Cheng feels himself go red - how can Zewu-jun still be so composed, after

touching him like that?! Touching someone's lips - all Jiang Cheng can do is weakly blow as he's told, and the airy, wheezy noise suddenly shapes itself into an actual note - weak and reedy, but an actual sound nonethless. Lan Xichen's eyes widen - "Yes, that's it," He encourages

, and Jiang Cheng tries again, limiting his airflow as much as he can, experimenting with pushing out less, then more air, letting out several weak wheezes until he sort-of manages to shape the air into an actual note.

Lan Xichen is smiling at him - with pride-! - and

Jiang Cheng has to duck his head bashfully - before Lan Xichen goes "proper posture, please-" and he has to hold his head up again, hoping he isn't blushing.

"With practice, I think you'll be very good at the xiao." Lan Xichen says, and this time Jiang Cheng really does flush.

They try out different notes on the scale for the remainder of the lesson, Jiang Cheng quickly coping the right fingering of each note and slowly getting to grips with all of them, warmed by Lan Xichen's gentle, encouraging smile.

At the end of the lesson, Jiang Cheng salutes

Zewu-jun, thanking him for his instruction and patience, and Lan Xichen returns it with a sincere smile. "You've picked it up rapidly. It took me nearly an entire year to form actual notes."

His smile is blinding, and Jiang Cheng finds himself stammering. "H-How old were you?"

"I was five." Lan Xichen answers, smiling nostalgically at his childhood recollection.

"When I was small," Jiang Cheng mouth moves before his mind, "It took me ages to finally hit the board with a bow."

Lan Xichen's eyes widen - it must be strange, given how Jiang Wanyin is seen as a natural at archery, to see him as a struggling child missing the board with each try - but he was sharing his childhood as Xichen himself initially had, and he smiles. "And like archery, you will

only get better with time." He says encouragingly. Jiang Wanyin flushes again, and it is a pretty sight.

"Many thanks to Teacher." Jiang Wanyin salutes him, before leaving the classroom with red dusting his neck.

Jiang Wanyin is a diligent student, that much Lan Xichen knows, even before they started music lessons. Now, he catches wind of Wei Wuxian teasing his shidi about playing the xiao late into the night when they cross paths, as Jiang Wanyin threatens to punch him and defends

himself - "I don't stay up all night like you, doing god-knows-what!" During their lessons, he progresses in leaps and bounds, brows furrowed in concentration in every task he is given, every simple exercise or song he is presented with, and it is breathtaking, the way his

expression relaxes and lightens when he successfully completes it, a small smile playing on his lips. Xichen makes sure to praise him with every milestone, and the younger boy has stars in his eyes when he thanks him. That lightness on the solemn Jiang Heir is a sight to behold.

The shame and self-recrimination that had hung over the boy like a dark cloud was gone, Jiang Wanyin regarding him with bright eyes and an expression much quicker to smile whenever they meet - be it during lessons or outside them.

As time goes by, Lan Xichen notices that Jiang Wanyin shows up early to their private tutoring, already hearing the notes of a foreign, pleasant melody as he approaches the room.

"That was a lovely tune." Xichen says, stepping inside. "Was it from YunMeng?"

"It's a popular folk tune." Jiang Wanyin explains.

"Could you play it for me?" Lan Xichen asks, and receives a private concert from Jiang Wanyin. The song is much faster and more energetic than the melodies of Gusu, making Xichen think of boats speeding through the water.

(taking a short break from this thread! I'll finish it soon!)