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Grandmaster Qiren has seen it all. He's seen clans climb up and others fall. He's been in war and lived in peace. He even fell in love once upon a time. The only thing he hasn't seen was a man as stubborn as his son, desperately clinging to a little girl he barely knows and asking his permission to adopt her into his family.
Qiren glares at the smaller man: "Have you lost your mind?"
Wuxian shakes his head: "But Father, she calls.."
Qiren cuts him off with a loud voice: "I swear to all that is holy, if you say: "she calls me mama" one more time.. I will have you flogged!"
Wangji clears his throat in protest. Qiren turns to glare at him: "And you! You're the sane one! Why aren't you stopping this idiocy?"
Wangji steps closer to his soul-bond in support: "If she's happy, then he's happy. That's enough reason for me."
Qiren throws his hands in the air in frustration. Zewu Jun, the peacemaker, tries to intervene: "The girl needs a home. They're both capable men. I don't see why it's a problem?"
Qiren points at Lan Ran: "She has a family! Am I the only one who's confused by this turn of events?"
Ran sighs: "I'm more confused than I thought was possible.."
Zewu Jun: "Lan Ran, you're a young unwedded woman with a bright future ahead of you. Caring for a child will hinder your prospects. Don't you think she will be happy with these two?"
Ran shakes her head: "I'm not doubting their competence. Lan Sizhui is a testament to their excellent parental skills. It's just.. Treasure Wei has a lot on his plate and his Excellency is the head of all clans.. Children require a lot of attention. I'm not sure if it's fair to her or to them."
Wuxian tightens his hold on the girl in his arms: "It takes a village to raise a child. Lan Zhan and I are not alone. We have you all to help, right?"
Wuxian looks hopefully around the room and receives affirmative nods from those present.
Wuxian then looks at Ran: "Sister Ran, I'm not trying to steal your niece from you. We will all be one big family. I just want to provide a safe place for her to thrive and feel comfortable after the ordeal she went through. Both Lan Zhan and I know what it feels like to lose a parent and don't wish for her to suffer as we did. I promise you that we will try our best to comfort and nurture her until our last breath."
Ran closes her eyes in resignation. These two men are probably the greatest men alive. She cannot measure up or complete with them. If she has to think of what's best for Hweiru, they are clearly the better choice. She turns to bow to Grandmaster Qiren: "I cannot argue that this is not disappointing from my perspective. But, it's not about me. This little girl has suffered enough and if being under the care of Treasure Wei brings her peace then I would be honored to accept their request to adopt her."
Wuxian smiles hopefully at his father. Qiren was struck with a memory from Wuxian's past.. when he was laughing in Burial Mounds with a young A-yuan, planting him like a turnip on the ground and pretending that he will grow friends and family for him. The look Wuxian was giving that girl was similar. Wuxian wanted a family of his own since he was little and Qiren cannot allow himself to be the one to block his son's happiness.
Qiren turns to look sternly at Wangji: "You are aware of the responsibility you're accepting?"
Wangji nods: "We are aware."
Qiren: "This is not something you can undo."
Wuxian nods: "It's not something we will ever consider undoing."
Qiren turns to look at the little girl that's clinging to Wuxian: "Lan Hweiru, do you understand what is going on?"
Hweiru nods: "Treasure Wei will be my mother and his Excellency will be my new father. I have to respect and obey them as my parents."
Qiren was shocked by her level of comprehension and finally nods his agreement: "Then it is settled. Lan Hweiru, welcome to our family."
Wuxian could barely contain his happiness. This little girl is now part of his family.. his daughter. The bitter sweet moment was tainted with the knowledge of how his vision of Shenhua Clan's kidnapping was making sense now. If anything, this new development will light a fire under his determination to change that horrendous outcome.. by any means necessary.
Qiren asked Keeper Daozi to build an extension to the Quiet Room for the little girl. Lan Ran and Mianmian helped Wuxian by going to the city and buying new clothes and necessities for Hweiru. The girl didn't have much since her parents traveled a lot and kept their carry ons light for faster movement. They agreed that Hweiru will be sleeping with her Aunt until her room is ready.
During the day, she was glued to Wuxian, following him everywhere like a duckling. When night falls, Lan Ran would take her away temporarily until her room is ready. Wuxian sat that night after she left and looked at Wangji who was cleaning his sword: "Thank you."
Wangji looked up and frowned: "Why are you thanking me?"
Wuxian moves to sit beside his soulmate and leans on his shoulder: "For making me happy."
Wangji smiles: "She makes us both happy."
Wuxian had a healing session the day after. Qiren took the liberty of explaining Wuxian's condition as delicately as possible to the little girl so she doesn't freak out when random symptoms occur after.
Zewu Jun made his way out of the healing session to meet with Lan Ran and Liwei. Apparently, something happened during their travel that needed his attention. Ran was sitting awkwardly next to Liwei, who was trying his best to avoid eye contact with her. Zewu Jun drank his tea while waiting for one of them to start talking. When the silent stretched out to an almost suffocating atmosphere, Zewu Jun cleared his throat and took the initiative: "Why do I feel like I'm going to regret hearing what you have to say?"
Lan Ran puts her hands up: "It's not that bad!"
Liwei whispers to her: "Don't say that.. it is that bad!"
Ran whispers back: "We can fix it!"
Zewu Jun cuts in: "How about you tell me what 'it' is so we can all be on the same page?"
After a moment of silent war between the two over who gets to spill the beans, Ran cleared her voice and said: "After Grandmaster Qiren granted me leave, I made my way to where Hweiru supposedly went missing to start investigating her whereabouts. As I mentioned before, I was robbed while I was sleeping outdoors and woke up to an empty pouch of coins. I didn't have enough money to do much so I thought I'd hunt game for food. Turns out the land I was in belonged to a rogue cultivator clan that was a little.. traditional?"
Liwei scoffs under his breath: "That's a delicate way to put it.."
Lan Ran glares at him while continuing: "They asked for payment for the animals I killed and ate, which I didn't have. That's when they suggested that instead of paying, I'd marry one of their sons.."
Zewu Jun shook his head in disbelief: "Tell me you didn't.."
Lan Ran sighs: "I definitely said no, but the pig headed clan leader didn't care about my opinion. He arranged a marriage anyways. Luckily Lan Liwei showed up before the set date and he.. did something stupid."
Liwei gasps at her: "I saved you! How was that stupid?"
Ran sighs loudly: "You had million ways to solve this problem without causing permanent damage. If you want, I can write a book of possible solutions that are much more acceptable than the colossal screw up.."
Zewu Jun coughs loudly to stop her rant: "What did he do?"
Ran took a deep breath then said: "I was in the middle of negotiating my release.." She turns and gives Liwei a burning look, "PEACEFULLY, when mister finder here showed up and claimed that I am his betrothed."
Zewu Jun's cup fell from his hand, landing with a big thud on the table. He stared at Liwei: "Tell me you didn't.."
Ran groans: "He did. He told them that we were going to marry soon. The clan leader called his bluff and asked us to perform the marriage ceremony with all the clan members as witnesses if we wanted to leave without a fuss. Mister genius over here told me that it doesn't count but it was a full ceremony with an oath and witnesses and.."
Zewu Jun puts his hand up to stop her rant once more: "You two got married?"
Liwei scratches his head: "Technically, it was a ruse."
Zewu Jun: "Did you use your real names?"
Ran and Liwei both nodded. Zewu Jun closes his eyes at the sheer amount of stupidity these two have demonstrated: "If you used your real names, took the oath, bowed and had witness to the ceremony.. then it's a real marriage!"
Ran covered her face in frustration while Liwei tries to negotiate: "But we can undo it, right?"
They both glare at him, so he tries again with a lower voice filled with less confidence than a few seconds ago: "Right?"
Zewu Jun: "Marriage is a lifelong commitment that cannot be broken unless one of you dies."
Lan Ran unsheathes her sword: "He lived a long life. May I kill him now?"
Liwei looks frightened for a second. Zewu Jun leans over the table to grab her sword away: "No one is dying today. You are both Lan Clan members and know the rules. Behave!"
Lan Ran points at Liwei: "This cannot be my husband!"
Liwei was offended: "'This' has a name! I'm an amazing person once you get to know me!"
Lan Ran: "Probably amazing at being dumb and coming up with the dumbest solutions!"
Liwei huffs: "We're both alive and we made it back in time! You should be thanking me!"
Lan Ran's voice grows louder: "Fat chance in hell! I would rather be married to a wailing donkey than be shackled to the likes of you!"
Zewu Jun bangs his hand on the table: "Enough! Bickering will not change what has happened. Accept your new reality and adapt to it. You're both grown adults so start acting like it!"
They both hung their heads while saying: "Sorry, Zewu Jun."
He sighs: "Now.. We have to inform Grandmaster Qiren of your changed status and seek the elders guidance on how we should proceed. Since this is clearly an undesirable coupling, they might offer some solutions on how you can.. cohabitate or be separated."
They both nodded their understanding. Zewu Jun turns to Liwei: "I believe you have something for me?"
Liwei looks back at the door, nodding to one of his followers who brings in a wooden box with carved writings on it. When he saw Zewu Jun's confused look he said: "One cannot be too careful. I had the box warded just in case."
Zewu Jun nods: "Brother Wei will open it and read it himself. Thank you Liwei for your efforts. Did you figure out who owns the book this page came from?"
Liwei: "I did. His name is Biming. No clan name. People seem to find it hard to describe what he looks like. The consensus is that he has no face or looks different every time they see him."
Zewu Jun grits his teeth: "Biming.."
Liwei continues: "If you want my opinion, that page was left behind as bait for us to find. It was freshly torn and we faced no challenges in acquiring it. I'm not sure if it's a part of a scheme or not, but my finders lost his track after we found that page."
Zewu Jun: "He showed up in Luxia City and taunted us. He has unique talents that we were not prepared for. It was a disaster and we almost lost Brother Wei in the process."
Lan Ran's eyes were filled with concern: "What happened?"
Zewu Jun filled them in on the events of what happened in their absence. While he was telling the story, he remembers a moment the night before they met the vile man. His brother predicted that this is never going to end and he prays to all deities that are willing to listen that Wuxian is for once.. wrong.
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