The story will be in Third person's POV
A few weeks has passed after the night of Nevernight, and everyone is finally getting along again after what happened.
Grand Master Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen are sitting at the Cold room seeping tea and meditating, Lan Qiren reading papers once in a while, until one caught his eyes.
Lan Qiren: "Xichen."
Lan Xichen: "Yes Uncle?"
Lan Qiren: "It seems that a village near Gusu is constantly being under attacked by a gang of thieves. I think it would be best if you go and help."
Lan Xichen: "Of course. May I take Wangji?"
Lan Qiren glared at Xichen, and Xichen lowered his head in understanding. Xichen stood up, bowed, and left. He was really hoping he could take his brother with him, but just like he expected, his Uncle declined.
Unfortunately, when he arrived the village was turned down, he immediately ordered his disciples to look for any survivors or just any sign of life at all. Everyone scattered, some in groups of two and some alone, he went alone to look at a far corner that captivated his eyes, he doesn't know why since it's just a broken barn house, but he had a small feeling he needed to go there... So he went. Inside, as expected, it was just as turned down as it was on the outside, or even worse. He then went inside the wooden barn where chickens flew out when he widened the door, the first thing he sees are two semi elderly couple, he took a closer look and it seems they could've been between the ages of 40 - 50, but they were dead for probably 10 or 20 minutes ago. He looked around, but there was no one nor nothing but chickens and hays everywhere, he left when knowing there wasn't a reason to stay in the broken barn.
(Baby cries)
The man immediately stops, his heart frozen in fear of what he heard, hopping his ears were deceiving him... But they didn't as he heard the cries of a baby again. He quickly turned around and concentrated where the child was, looking everywhere to figure out where the crying came from; he soon finds out that the crying came from under the couple's bodies. He gently yet quickly removed them and could hear the child from under the floor boards where it looked like a small door. He tried lifting it, but it seems that the impact it received from the falling bodies got it jammed. The baby kept crying and it only made him more desperate in saving the child. He unsheathed Shuoyue (his sword) and lightly stabbed the end of the floor board where it could've been where it was supposed to open and it was a success after hearing a click. He let go of his sword letting it fall on the floor and lifted the small door to indeed find the crying child. He then pushed the small door forward to keep it in place and jumps in the small space where the child is in. The poor thing had a bit of blood splattered everywhere on it's face and blanket; thankfully, not near the mouth, eyes nor nose. Xichen gently took her in his arms and shushed her while cleaning away the little blood the baby had on it's face; as for the baby's reaction, it calmed down. Xichen then started checking the baby to see if it was injured, but there was nothing and only found out it's gender.
Lan Xichen: "Female."
Lan Xichen wrapped her better with the blanket she already had and suddenly, the little girl made a strange noise that caught his attention, making him look up to her. Once his eyes connected with hers, she smiled at him and bubbled, he smiled/chuckled as well and made small noises, making the little girl smile and laugh/squeal more. At that moment, Lan Xichen felt something different in him, but the good kind. It felt too good having her in his arms, making her smile, the little girl grabbing strands of his hair; he felt warmth and pure joy, as if this moment was what he's been needing in his life.
... But like all good moments, they end quicker than we hoped...
A strange shadow loomed over him, immediately grabbing his attention and snapping his head around to see 5 strange masked men smirking at him (A/N: cloth covering their faces except their eyes). One of them held his sword in which he now remembers leaving it on the floor from the desperation in saving the child.
Thief #1: "Well well well... If I'm not mistaken, you must be the famous Clan Leader of Lan Clan. It would be a shame to kill you now so; why don't you hop out of your little rabbit hole?"
The other men laughed, Lan Xichen sighed in dismay and obeyed; after all, he still had the baby girl in his arms. Once outside, the men lead him out to the center of the broken village where he sees all of his disciples held captive on their knees by three abnormally big men, his disciples's swords taken away by one shorter man; there was also another man looking at them all, in which he soon knew that it was the leader of the small gang.
Thief #1: "Captain! Look who we found!"
The man then turned around and his features were quite intimidating. His face showed no expression, but when he smiles, his smile goes higher than a normal smile should go and it seems he lost an eye due to a sword injury, since there's a big scar across his right face including his right eye, luckily though, he was wearing an eye patch so it covered what could be a bad scene.
Captain: "Oh. I thought I smelled a big one here, looks like we'll be having rabbit for dinner boys!"
The gang laughed, the disciples gulped not knowing what exactly the Captain of the gang meant while Xichen tensed yet remained calm.
(Baby noises)
Captain: "Ho! It's the baby! You hear that boys! We found the child!"
The men celebrated except the three big guys that held the Lan disciples hostage.
Lan Xichen (serious): "What do you want with the child?"
Captain: "Hmm, I believe I have the right to deny your question. But let's make a deal, shall we? Give me the child, and I'll leave you and your little bunnies free, never dealing with us again. How about it?"
Lan Xichen looked at his disciples, one in particular stared at him and quickly shook his head, that particular disciple knew something he didn't. Even with that alarming sign, his answer will still obviously be a 'no'.
Lan Xichen: "I won't give you an answer until you answer my question first. It's rude of you to not treat me equally."
The Captain's smile leaves his face, showing he's dead serious expression and huffs.
Captain: "Equality?... I'll show you equality."
The Captain raised his arm and the big men started killing the Lan disciples by stabbing them from behind. This triggered Lan Xichen greatly and gasped at what he's being forced to watch. That particular disciple of his shouted before being killed.
Particular Disciple: "Zewu Jun! The child has a DIAMOND CORE!-" (stab)
Lan Xichen sighed in despair, a tear streamed down his cheek thus alarming the baby, making her cry.
Captain (eyeing the baby): "Amazing how the child can sense someone else's despair at such a young age." (Chuckle)
Lan Xichen (gritted teeth): "You'll pay for what you've done, and I will never give this child away."
Captain (threatening): "Are you sure?..."
Lan Xichen (threatening): "Over my dead body."
Captain (smirk): "That won't be a problem."
The Captain then snapped his fingers and Xichen was kicked behind one of knees, forcing him to be on one knee. His hair was the grabbed and yanked down, forcing him to look up, he could then feel the coldness and sharpness of a blade on his neck, teasingly grazing his throat. Xichen held the child for dear life in his arms, his heart pumping faster by the second, trying to think of a plan to escape from the 6 men surrounding him with the child in his arms, but both the ringing in his ears from his fast beating heart and the child's crying didn't make it possible for him to think in general.
Captain (smiling): "Any last words?... Zewu Jun?"
*Stab*...*stab**stab* *stab*
Xichen covered the baby, not letting her get dirty with blood again while a sword killed one man after another; he took this chance to escape, so he picked his sword from the ground and ran; Xichen quickly looked back to see the person that saved him, only to see that particular disciple using his last breath to save not only his leader, but the rare child as well. Xichen couldn't stay longer though, so he ran away with a heavy heart, promising he'll try to come back and give his now deceased disciples a proper burial. He could hear the Captain shout to get him and, unfortunately, those men weren't the only ones around and started followed him. Some were even shooting arrows at him from behind.
Captain: "Be careful with the child! We need it ALIVE!"
Lan Xichen: "GaH!"
Xichen was cut on the side of his thigh by a flying arrow and ran as fast as he could to take cover. He hid behind a big boulder and sat, he quickly shushed the panicking baby girl by doing anything he possibly could to calm her down, which she did in less than a minute which surprised him. The sharp pain in his thigh made him grunt in utter pain, he risked and gently placed the child on the ground, he ripped one of his sleeves entirely and tightly wrapped it around his wounded leg while keeping an eye out for both the enemy and the child. Once finished, he bent to take the child,...
*SHING!*
*Gasp!*
... docking just in time to prevent himself from getting decapitated by a big sword from one of those big men. He slipped, he docked, he limped away, Xichen did almost the impossible as, practically, a one legged man carrying a newborn. He kept running away as fast as his tired legs could, the fast heavy steps those big men made when chasing him was excruciatingly frightening and could hunt him in his nightmares, he would sometimes look behind to see how close or far those men were. He looked back at front just in time to sharply stop when he realized he was trapped, he was cornered. He was lead to a cliff and no land was on the other side that was both high and close enough for him to jump to, there was only a river down bellow; a fall could be lethal since he was most likely 30 or 40 meters high up from the river below. He turned around and saw the Captain of the gang approach to him.
Captain: "Zewu Jun! I've seemed to have underestimated that disciple of yours too soon; but as you can see, I still have men to spare. (Getting nearer/those same three giant men with big swords coming out of the bushes behind him) Give up now, and I'll let you live."
Xichen panted/gasped, trying to breath and calm his racing heart. He looked down at the calm child, seeing her look at him with so much hope and life in her eyes, making small noises of reassurance as if she was encouraging him. Xichen gave a small huff and a small smile while shedding a few tears to the smiling little girl, clearly scared of what he'll do next, he hugged/held her for dear life and...
... He jumped...
Captain: "NOOOOOOO!"
*SPLASH*
Lan Xichen: *GASP*
Xichen swam to the nearest ground he could find after letting the currents drag him away, and once reached to solid ground, he placed the baby down coughing the little water he swallowed and checked the child who was crying out of pure fear. He unwrapped her as to check if she was alright, and miraculously, she was okay, she was just wet. He sighed in relief, but his sigh turned into more coughing. He then wrapped the child again in her now wet blanket and shushed her cries, this time it took a bit longer, which he completely understood. If he were in her place, he would also be crying like crazy, after all, it was indeed a very high fall. When he tried to stand up, he suddenly felt a piercing pain on his abdomen causing him to stumble and place a hand on the ground while the other held the child from falling. At the moment, he refused to look down, but he knew better, if one of his ribs truly broke, he wouldn't have been able to sit in the position he's in right now, nor would he been able to aid the child so quickly. Xichen then carefully stood up, using a nearby boulder for support while trying to ignore the immense pain he's feeling right now and walked.
He must've ran far when he was being chased by those men because he basically visited 3 small villages before reaching the village of Gusu. He was unfortunately forced to break some of the his beloved Clan's rules and started stealing from then on until he makes it back home; a long, dark, thick cloak being the first item stolen as to both hide his identity and the child. He stole needles, threads, bandages, food for him and (mostly) for the baby, and warm blankets. As for why the needles and threads, they were for him to sew his wound on his thigh; sadly, he couldn't steal any medicine, so he had to go for an alcohol based drink to disinfect his thigh. Something happened in his abdomen, but he didn't exactly know what, he only knew it hurt and that the area had a worrisome color.
After about two weeks or three, he was finally able to reach Gusu, and at this point, he was limping the rest of the way up to his Clan's entrance. Once he reached it, the disciples did their job well in protecting the entrance.
Disciple #1: "Stop! State your name and business right now!"
They held their sword, ready to unsheathe it if necessary. Xichen raised his shaking hand, clearly alarming the two young men, but immediately stand down when the shady man put down his hood, revealing it was their missing Clan Leader.
One of them ran back inside the Clan residence to prepare everything to treat their Leader while the other helped him go up. The news spread like wild fire within the Clan, which means that Lan Qiren was not the first one to hear the news of Lan Xichen's return. The Grand Master speed runned out of the office to go see Xichen, Lan Wangji soon joined him mid way. Once at the center of the Clan, Xichen limped to his Uncle after seeing him and grabbed his Uncle's extended arm.
Lan Qiren: "What happened to you?! Where were you?! Why didn't you call for help (A/N: He means the signal guys)?!"
Lan Wangji stayed by his brother's side, holding him when seeing how his brother was slightly leaning to the side, the look of complete worry and concern on his face.
Lan Xichen (weak): "Uncle..."
Xichen then moves his cape with the occupied elbow revealing the child. Qiren and Wangji's eyes widen and look back to Xinchen.
Lan Xichen: "Uncle... Whatever you do (lightly pushes the child to him)... Don't let anyone have her but you."
Qiren was utterly confused, stuttering muffled words from the shock and was about to ask why, but Xichen fainted into Wangji's arms from the excessive amount of pain, stress, and exhaustion. The last thing he heard was his Uncle and brother calling out to him, and the cries of the child he's been protecting the entire time.
...
Lan Xichen felt calm and comfortable, until he heard the baby crying. Due to the instincts he developed during the time, he panicked and quickly lifted himself up, Wangji restrained him immediately by lightly pushing Xichen down; but out of instinct, Xichen grabbed and held one of Wangji's arms while his other choked him.
Lan Qiren: "Xichen!"
He sharply looked to the side, seeing his Uncle shushing the baby girl; he then looked to who he was choking, and realized it was his own brother in which he immediately let go after realizing what he was doing. Wangji then gasped for air while Xichen tried to calm himself down.
Lan Xichen (panicked): "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Xichen kept apologizing until Wangji shook his head and reassured him that it was okay.
Lan Qiren: "Now that Xichen is awake, you may go now, Wangji."
Lan Wangji side-looked towards the direction in which his Uncle's voice came from and gently sighed. He looked at Xichen one last time, stood up, and walked to the door. He stopped at the door frame when his brother called for him, he stayed there and was about to look back, but instead, he continued to walk away.
Lan Qiren: "Leave him Xichen, you know more than anyone here that Wangji won't regret his mistake. I don't know why you even bother.
This made Xichen sigh softly, but ended up wincing in pain.
Lan Xichen (grunting): "For how long was I asleep?"
Lan Qiren: "Two days.)
Lan Xichen: "?!"
Lan Qiren: "You also have two broken ribs."
Lan Xichen (surprised): "What?"
Lan Qiren: "The Doctor said you had two broken ribs on your right side, a small gash on your head, and had to sew the wound on your thigh again. He also said you did a good job sowing it, but not enough as to not get an infection." (Xichen panicked) "But don't worry, the infection is small, it'll heal with ease."
Xichen relaxed, now that he knows he won't be needing to amputate his leg one day. He looked back at his Uncle again and smiled at the sight, seeing how his Uncle made small noises and how he smiled at the baby girl while he fed her. It seems this is something his Uncle has been unknowingly needing in his life too, he then thought of what Wangji's reaction to her could be, but only frowned. Lan Qiren turned to see Xichen looking outside with a frown.
Lan Qiren (serious): "Xichen (gets his attention), tell me now what happened and why you brought this child before I get, what I'm hoping, is the wrong idea."
Lan Xichen: "She has a diamond core."
Lan Qiren tensed, clearly triggered by this information, and places the baby bottle down.
Lan Qiren: "I was really hoping I was getting the wrong idea." (Starts helping the baby burp) "No wonder you told me to not give her to anyone." (small burps/hiccups) (looks at the baby) "Oh good job. (Looks at Xichen again) What happened Xichen?"
Lan Xichen: "Me and my disciples were too late, the village was already destroyed and there were no survivors, or at least that's what I thought at first. After finding the child under the floor boards, I was found by the gang that the message informed us about and I was forced to obey."
Lan Qiren: "Why didn't you fight? You know how to fight with one arm tied."
Lan Xichen: "I forgot my sword on the floor, it's as if the people that took care of the baby made a small refuge space for someone else, so I went inside to reach and console the crying child. If you were as stressed as I was, out of desperation, you would've also forgotten your sword."
Lan Qiren nodded, understanding his nephew's point; Lan Xichen continued.
Lan Xichen: "I obeyed their orders and they took me to the center of the village where I saw my disciples held hostage by three abnormally huge men. The man who I later knew was the Captain of the gang wanted to make a deal with me, give him the child and set us free, or suffer the consequences." (Qiren looked at him) "I wasn't thinking of giving away the child in the first place, but one of my disciples desperately shook their head, he knew something I didn't. I asked the Captain to be fair with me and to confess what he wanted with the child, but my question angered him and made him kill all of my disciples. Before the one that shook his head died, he revealed to me that the child I had in my arms had a diamond core." (Qiren sighed again) "I refused once again in giving her to him and I had no where to go, I knew I was going to fail in protecting the child at that moment... (Smile) But, that particular disciple of mine used his last breath to control his sword and kill the ones that held me, giving me a chance to escape. His sacrifice was not in vain, despite almost being so afterwards, I didn't give up and kept running for dear life, I even ended up jumping a high cliff, most likely almost 40 meters high."
Lan Qiren looked at Xichen and stared at him in shock, and looked at the sleeping child, thinking it was a miracle the baby is still alive in one peace.
Lan Xichen: "After I escaped, I had to break one of the Clan's rules and started stealing and lying, the first stolen item being the cape I had on as to cover my identity."
Lan Qiren: "Were they everywhere?"
Lan Xichen: "Apparently yes, I always kept my head down though. I discovered this when I bumped into one of them in the second village I visited, I had to speak in a female voice so I wouldn't be discovered; luckily yet surprisingly, it worked."
Lan Qiren: "I'm glad you made it here in one piece, but do you think they know the child survived the fall?"
Lan Xichen slowly shook his head with a worried look, Qiren sighed at Xichen's expression. The baby then started bubbling, making Qiren look down to see the baby girl smiling at him. Qiren chuckled at this wonderful sight, his smile making the baby girl smile ever so brightly.
Lan Qiren: "This child is quite the smiley one Xichen; I thought all newborns only cried, but this one did nothing but smile the entire time."
Xichen smiled and agreed, he also admitted to his Uncle that her smiles are what gave him the necessary strength to keep going. This made Lan Qiren warm inside.
Lan Qiren: "So, what are your plans with the child?"
Lan Xichen: "It seems we bonded very well during the entire time, I don't think it would be possible for me to give her away. Besides, she's to precious and rare."
Lan Qiren: "So you're thinking of raising her yourself?"
His Uncle looked at him with doubtful eyes. Xichen only smiled at him and nodded, Qiren sighed at this, but couldn't help but give his nephew a small encouraging smile. He looked back at the smiling child and asked.
Lan Qiren: "I'm guessing you already came up with a name?"
Lan Xichen smiled.
Lan Xichen: "Yes..."
"... Lan ZhÄn"
"The Untamed" series as well as their characters belong to their rightful owner, I only own the made up characters and the plot.
Thank you for reading!â¤