kind of a darkji, dark snow white wangxian au where after running away from lotus pier and from the wrath of madam yu, wounded from zidian, wei wuxian found himself fainting in the middle of an unknown forest.

cw // 5 years age difference (wy 19, lz 24), referenced abuse, mentions of blood and wounds, will add more as i write

the smell of skin burning lingers still in his senses. the sound of crackling and the spark of a lightning— wei wuxian couldn't help but clutch his chest. the beating of heart hasn't slowed despite being miles away from lotus pier.

though still laced with panic, wei wuxian cant help but slump on the wet ground and lean his side on a tree. he's so tired and his wounded back aching along with his feet. he can only hope that his golden core will unseal itself sooner than expected.

only when he's dozing off that he heard soft noises. there are frantic movements around him. despite that, wei wuxian couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. it is as if the fatigue has already caught up to him that not even the possibility of danger could make him move.

though before completely falling asleep, wei wuxian felt something soft bump to his knee.

ah, i wonder what that was. he thought before succumbing to sleep.

—

when he stirs, wei wuxian did not expect to see little white bunnies watching him. though his vision is still blurry, he's sure that these are bunnies— six? seven of them huddled together close to his knees, watching him with their ears twitching.

'ah. they are so cute' wei wuxian thinks while lifting his left hand, attempting to reach out only that he felt the skin on his back pull on his wounds.

hissing, wei wuxian retreated his hand and just stared at the bunnies with a small smile on his face.

"were you guys looking after me?" he asked and he chuckled to himself when he thought that at least three out of the seven bunnies tilted their head as if answering his question.

and before he knows it, sleepiness is calling for him once again.

"continue watching for me, ok?"

the next time that wei wuxian wakes up, he's no longer slumped against a tree. he can no longer feel the wet ground damping his bloodied robes.

instead, what he feels is a soft pillow against his head, a warm comforter draped over him and the firm mattress against his side.

confused, wei wuxian felt the adrenaline rush through him. he immediately sat up and looked around.

and there they are, seven boys in pristine white robes sitting on the floor huddled together and watching him.

seeing their curious gazes made wei wuxian do a double take.

'these boys...it felt like this is not the first ive seen them watching me.' wei wuxian thought before clearing his throat to speak.

"i- where am i? how did i get here??"

instead of getting an answer, the seven boys pressed their lips together. as if they are not allowed to speak and hesitating whether to answer him.

"uhm. am i intruding? i honestly don't know how i got here. im sorry but i could leave—"

"no!" one of the boys exclaimed

making his peers widen their eyes on the boy, as if berating him for speaking.

"what? hangua— i mean, it's not like he cannot stay here. he's- he's wounded." the boy reasons out, in return, one of the boys sighed before speaking as well.

"jingyi's right. we cant let him leave-"

"huh? why?" wei wuxian interjected upon hearing what the second boy said.

startled, the boy bowed his head before continuing, "i mean, you are hurt. we cant just let you leave when your wounds are still not healed."

"oh uhm. im okay but thank you?" upon hearing this, the first boy- jingyi, as wwx heard earlier- gave him a look as if he's crazy.

"you fainted, in the middle of the forest— TWICE. what do you mean you are okay?"

"jingyi-"

"but sizhui!"

"jingyi. remember?" that immediately shut jingyi up which confused wei wuxian even more. the whole exchange is...weird. he wanted to ask but the boys seemed to be having a conversation through their eyes already.

after a few beats, jingyi faced him again.

"sorry but you are badly hurt. you can stay here as you heal."

taken aback, wei wuxian scratched his temple before nodding, "thank you? i can do house chores so i can help while i stay here."

sizhui, "there's no need for that. we already have those covered.

just focus on healing?"

"uh sure? but im not promising that i will keep still while in here. i like to...move around, you see."

nodding in understanding, sizhui motioned for the other boys to stand, "then we'll leave you for now to rest. we'll look for robes that could fit you

and bring you some food too."

"oh! okay but wait! aren't you boys going to introduce yourselves to me? not gonna ask my name? what do i do? why i am bloodied and passed out in the forest? and how did you guys found me anyway? who carried me here?"

wei wuxian felt...a bit skeptical as he goes on with his rumbling. suddenly realizing how easy the boys seemed to accept him in their home.

"what if im a murder? or a thief? you boys are too trusting, bringing me here in your house. and whose room is this even?"

sizhui gave him a polite smile as he bows, a cue for wei wuxian to stop speaking.

"this is a spare room. and of course, we can introduce ourselves to you and you can do the same. and even if you're a thief or a murder, i think we can still out up a fight against one person."

"one wounded and weak person, you mean." jingyi mutters but wei wuxian hears it as clear as day, making him laugh.

"yeah, yeah. you boys are smart. if i didn't knew better i would think you boys are from the lan sect, with your white robes and all." wei wuxian says, waving his

hand around. only that if he looked a little closer, he would've noticed how the seven boys stiffens from where they are standing.

"anyway, i am wei wuxian! and clearly, i am older than all of you."

"of course, wei-gongzi. we are all 13 years old here." sizhui responds.

"that young? damn. im nineteen." wei wuxian crosses his arms against his chest only to put it down on his sides again when he felt the sting of his wounds.

"ai ya. you boys introduce yourselves already so you could proceed to do what you guys are ought to do."

nodding, sizhui stepped aside before speaking again, "i am sizhui and this–" he points at jingyi, "is jingyi. and this is zizhen," he points at the boy beside jingyi then to the boy next to zizhen, "this is rulan, and then mingchen, xiukai, and haoran." he finishes off as he

points the other three boys.

after being introduced, the boys grinned at wei wuxian as they bow. obviously more comfortable now than earlier.

"oh wow. nice to meet all of you, gongzi." restricted by his wounds, wei wuxian only lower his head as a bow.

"it was nice meeting you too, wei-gongzi!" zizhen exclaims followed by the other boys except for rulan who's only staring at him.

after a few more talks, sizhui lead the boys out of the room to let wei wuxian rest. not before telling him that he will bring him robes in a few.

the moment that wei wuxian can barely hear the seven boys, he suddenly realized something.

"wait. they did not have any family name? huh? wait, wait. they didn't mention any guardian too??" confused and seemingly unsettled, wei wuxian affirmed to himself that he will ask later.

only that when he was given food, new robes, and even a basin with water a cloth to clean himself with, his questions was left forgotten and tucked away for the rest of the day.

when wei wuxian remembered that he has some questions to ask the boys, they are now here to be found. he's been staying at their house for a whole week and have managed to get out of the room on the third day.

one thing that he observed is that, the boys are nowhere to be found during mornings and afternoons. they only comeback before the sun sets completely. and when he asks them where they have gone, he only either receives a smile from sizhui or gets distracted by the other boys.

they don't tell him where they went or how they spent their day. instead, they ask him questions. what does he like? food he wants to eat tomorrow. does he want anything to entertain himself with? books? art materials? music instruments?

it seems like they only want to know things about him and for him to not know things about /them/. sometimes, he thinks that there's a name that they almost blurts out but will immediately cover it up with another question. it happens so fast that sometimes he asks himself

if they truly happen.

nevertheless, he entertains their questions especially when he wakes up in the morning, the food that he told them he likes will be waiting for him on the dining table. when he mentioned that he used to play a dizi, he found a silver-like white dizi

on the bedside table. when he talked about the poetry book that he used to read but never finished from the jiang library, he sees a copy of it on the desk in his temporary room.

sometimes, wei wuxian feels like he should be putting more thought on those occurrences but as he focuses on his healing, he often forgets the oddness of the situation. or when he plays the dizi or when he read the book.

it's like being in this house allows him to just forget about those things. to not think about those things further and just accept that the boys are nice enough to give him these things. and when he thought about that, he decided to help little by little.

given that his movements are still limited he opt in to doing simple chores such as sweeping and washing the dishes.

now though, he has nothing left to do. when he woke up, the house is clean from any dust that there nothing to sweep nor wipe anymore.

the dishes that he used for his meal barely tired him out. he's also finished reading the book and playing the dizi doesn't appeal to him at the moment. that's why as he looks around, he was reminded of his curiosities. and to make sure that he won't forget,

he grabbed a brush and a paper to remind himself.

'ask the boys about their family.'

satisfied, wei wuxian decided that going out of the house is probably possible for him now.

once he's out, he noticed that the house is indeed in the middle of the forest. no neighbors on sight. only trees and bushes.

as he wanders around, circling the perimeter of the house, wei wuxian noticed how there seemed to be a strong ward surrounding the house.

it's too strong that wei wuxian doubts that the boys put it up on their own. when he tried to go past it, he suddenly felt a shiver run up his spine.

he can barely get out of it. as if passing through it will suck all of his spiritual energy at once.

as if it was meant to not just act as a protection but as well as an enclosure. not allowing just anyone to come in and come out.

the strength of the ward disturbs wei wuxian more than he should.

"ha. maybe they are just protecting their home from any wild animal or potential thieves. right..." feeling uneasy, wei wuxian thought to himself that if he were to live in the middle of a forest, he would ward his home heavily as well.

only that the ward is not the only thing making wei wuxian uneasy.

but as well as the fact that he felt like he's being watched the moment that he stepped out of the house.

i am sorry for the grammatical errors btw, i am directly typing it here in twitter and it's 2 am here so...

—
the boys didn't come back home.

wei wuxian's sitting right in front of the window directly facing the path where the seven boys usually appear once the surroundings are covered with the golden glow of the sun.

but today, the sun is no longer seen– no longer providing light on that stony path.

for some reason, a familiar ugly feeling starts crawling in his chest once again. that same heaviness and anxiety whenever madam yu comes back from a night hunt or discussion conferences.

it is not the same. of course, it is not. this time, he's not scared of seeing someone again but instead, he's scared of not seeing those loud boys again.

it's irrational to think like this. wei wuxian knows that. he barely knew the boys and at most, they are suspiciously nice

to him. but he's spent a week with those same boys, they remind him of the young disciples that he used to guide. the same disciples that follows him like little ducklings even though he's no longer their shixiong.

if he were to be asked, he appreciates the boys asking him random things and even the most absurd things. he...likes the noise. it gets his mind out of unwanted thoughts. it helps him feel more present. more aware that he's no longer in lotus pier.

there's no more whippings and sealing of his core. there's no more accusations of trying to take back the sect from madam yu and her children— something that he never understood.

he grew up in their care, barely remembering what his parents look like. thus, hearing those assumptions often makes him think that perhaps— perhaps there's something he should know. something he should be doing aside from allowing the madam to push him around, and

to curse and whip him without reason.

but those thoughts doesn't matter anymore. not after he have run for his life just a week ago.

not when the seven boys he's grown to see as little brothers are yet to come home.

that night, wei wuxian did not cook. he doesn't have the appetite to eat anyway. he remained awake until midnight before dragging himself to his temporary room.

that night, as he dozes off to sleep, he thinks he heard the soft lull of guqin playing not far away from where he is.

waking up in the morning felt...odd. wei wuxian cant help but to think about the familiar sound of guqin filling his sleepy mind last night. and waking up alone did not help his overthinking.

"am i...going crazy already?? or was that a actually a dream?" he asks himself loudly.

he continues to talk to think deeply when he arrived at the dining table only to see a freshly cooked meal settled on top of it.

wei wuxian couldn't help but take a step back and called for the boys, "sizhui?! jingyi! are you all home already?"

met with silence, wei wuxian felt that same shiver run up on his spine making him look around.

'no one's around but.. but where is this from? or did the boys come home while i was asleep? but i didn't hear anything...' he thinks to himself.

deciding that this is not normal at all, wei wuxian checked every part and every room in the house to make sure that he is indeed alone. when he was sure that no one's around, he came back to the dining room to inspect the food.

it was a spicy congee as he can see.

it's still warm and untouched. and when he looked at the bowl closely, he saw a note tucked under it.

[food for wei ying. please eat. it's safe. do not worry.]

and yeah, no. wei wuxian immediately out down the note and pushed the bowl of congee away. that made him more

suspicious about the food.

'but the wards are really strong. it's not like those lousy ones that i can break into easily...' wei wuxian contemplates as he hears his stomach growl from hunger.

"i'll...i'll just cook. for myself." he said, affirming himself that he doesn't need

to touch the congee to eat.

he just wishes that the boys will come home tonight because a day alone is already making him feel uneasy. more than he thought he would be. he's faced the worst in lotus pier alone but what he's feeling right now is different.

different that he cannot put a finger on it aside from the feeling that he is being watched.

—

wei wuxian spent most of his day cleaning the house, redirecting his uneasiness to it. and when the sun bathes the forest with gold, he waited in front of the window once again.

'if they won't be here again, i will go out and—'

before he could even finish his train of thought, wei wuxian already saw the seven boys walking down the path towards the house. they all look just the same. pristine white robes, swords on their waist, and loud chattering.

so loud that wei wuxian felt himself smiling.

"little ducklings!! welcome home!!" he exclaims as they enter the house and offer him a bow.

"where have you all been? i waited for you to come back yesterday. i thought something bad happened to all of you already. i was so ready to get out of here!"

glancing at each other, the boys gave him another bow before sizhui stepped forward.

"we're sorry, wei-gongzi. our errand required more time than we expected. that's why we weren't able to come home yesterday." he explains. ever so polite that wei wuxian can only nod.

"hmp. what did you boys do anyway? you never told me—"

"just this and that! by the way, wei-gongzi! have you eaten? what did you eat today? spicy congee?" zizhen interjects immediately, cutting him off. it was disrespectful but seeing the enthusiasm of the boy was enough

to stop wei wuxian from commenting and instead just answered his questions.

"i have but— now that you've asked me! zizhen, you're so smart!"

"huh...? what did i do?" zizhen asked whilst looking at the other boys.

"hahaha nothing! i mean no- not nothing. it's just- ugh. you boys follow me to the dining table. faster!" wei wuxian commands as he leads the boys towards the table.

"here. see this bowl of congee here?" the seven boys nodded to this.

"i did not cook that." wwx says as he takes the note under the bowl. "and i found this."

after handing the note for the boys to see and read, wei wuxian continues to speak.

"i also noticed that the wards around here is really strong...

it's impossible for anyone to just go past through it. so, i dont know what to feel about that food and note." as well as about you guys and this house, wei wuxian continues in his mind.

there was a moment of silence as the boys kept on exchanging glances before going back

to reading the note. and as wei wuxian's patience thins, it was surprisingly rulan who came forward.

"the food. it's safe. you should've eaten it." and then went back behind sizhui and zizhen again.

"that's right. uh next time, dont waste food, wei-gongzi!" haoran adds.

confused and somewhat flabbergasted, wei wuxian raises an eyebrow as he looked at each one of the boys. they are not looking at him in the eye except for sizhui.

"i was alone. and that came out of nowhere." wei wuxian says, voice unexpectedly sharp

making the boys flinch.

"it's.. it's not out of nowhere..." xiukai mumbles which was immediately followed by mingchen and zizhen nodding.

"they know my name. my birth name. i never told any one of you that."

now that he has vocalized those, wei wuxian felt more wrong footed.

"we promise, wei-gongzi. there's no harm in here." sizhui says as he hands back the note to him.

"that's all we can say for now but we promise you that no one here intends to harm you.

and to make you feel better, if someone dares to do so— i dont think they would be able to leave this place in one piece."

as if there's nothing to worry about his words, sizhui bowed and immediately left which was followed by the others. leaving wei wuxian to his thoughts.

"ha..that shit scared me more." wei wuxian mutters to himself as he sits on one of the chairs, feeling the heaviness in his chest come back.

"no kid should be saying that shit and...what have i gotten myself into now?"

that night, wei wuxian was once again lull to sleep by the familiar sound of guqin feelings his senses.

only this time, there was a hazy image forming in his mind.

—

will continue this tomorrow or smth!! im sleepy now hehe. lan zhan might or might not appear on the next update. it depends!! btw i didnt expect that a lot of people will stumble upon this fic idea but thank u for reading!!