Chapter Text
“Allow me to introduce the new God of the Underworld.”
Lan Zhan did not prefer to spend his time in the heavens, but this time of year there was no work to keep the God of Spring tied to the mortal realm. Thus, he found himself crowded into the grand hall of the Heavenly Palace of Jin Guangyao, God of the Sky and highest ranking heavenly official. It seemed that he had extended an invitation to every heavenly official. Jin Guangyao’s voice cut through the weight of the silence.
“Mo Xuanyu has graciously accepted this role. Please welcome him.”
Lan Zhan’s gaze strayed from Jin Guangyao’s face to his hand, which was rested on the shoulder of the young man standing next to him. The man was shorter and slimmer than Lan Zhan, with a mass of long, black hair tied high on his head. He stood blank-faced, subtly fidgeting with his robes of pure black, avoiding the eyes of the heavenly officials gathered to welcome him to his new role.
The late god Nie Mingjue had long held the title of God of the Underworld. Recently, the man lost his mind due to so many years surrounded by such strong yin energy and very publicly self-destructed. Throughout his rule over the realm of the dead, Nie Mingjue had been properly feared as a cruel and volatile god. However, he was tolerated and respected by the rest of the heavens because of his sworn brotherhood to the two much more beloved gods, Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen, God of the Sea.
The stress of the role and the effect on one’s mental wellbeing became evident throughout Nie Mingjue’s long reign, and so no other heavenly official would willingly take up his duties. However, they all knew that someone would have to be chosen. There must be a God of the Underworld. From Nie Mingjue’s death until this very moment, each heavenly official had felt the fear of that possibility. Lan Zhan almost felt pity for the stranger before them. The relief was palpable after the announcement, and then the whispers started.
“ He would do this to his own half brother?!”
“Haven’t you heard? The boy is a cut-sleeve. He was one of Jin Guangyao’s junior officials, and got thrown out of the palace for harassing Jin Guangyao himself!”
Lan Zhan tried to tune out the murmurs swirling around the room. Gossip was unbecoming of a heavenly official.
Jin Guangyao had guided Mo Xuanyu into the crowd to be received by his fellow gods, but a bubble of space seemed to open around him wherever he stood. Lan Zhan saw his brother, Lan Xichen, approach Mo Xuanyu, and for the first time, Lan Zhan saw the shorter man raise his eyes to greet another. Lan Zhan couldn’t hear what was being said by Lan Xichen, but something like gratitude raised the corners of Mo Xuanyu’s mouth.
Lan Zhan was momentarily jealous of his brother’s kind demeanor. He had to stamp down the thought that he would never receive a reaction so warm again. Lan Zhan was aware of the alienating effect he had on others, and it had only gotten worse in the last 13 years. Despite being the God of Spring, he was regarded to be as cold as jade.
Lan Xichen caught his eye and tilted his head. Refusal of such a summons was unthinkable, so Lan Zhan easily wove through the crowd and soon found himself staring down into dark eyes.
“Mo Xuanyu will surely be taking on many missions to establish himself with his new followers. Lan Wangji is unbearably bored this time of year. Please call on him should you need assistance.”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan agreed, but tried to sneak a sidelong glance at his brother. He had not traveled with a companion for many years, Lan Xichen knew this. Lan Zhan missed the look of panic thrown at his brother by Mo Xuanyu.
Mo Xuanyu raised both hands, palms out, and waved them in front of himself. “Ah, I certainly could not impose upon the God of Spring.”
So, Lan Zhan thought, Mo Xuanyu knew who he was. Lan Zhan couldn’t remember meeting Mo Xuanyu. Perhaps he knew because of Lan Xichen.
“No imposition,” Lan Xichen smiled openly, “Lan Wangji often seeks out a little adventure to get him through the winter.”
Mo Xuanyu stuttered a bit before being interrupted by Jin Guangyao’s reappearance close to his side. “I am glad to see you making friends.” Jin Guangyao lifted his arm lightly around Mo Xuanyu’s shoulders. “But I’m afraid it is time to show you to your new home.”
“It is very kind of you to guide him during this time. As expected of Jin Guangyao.” Lan Xichen inclined his head toward his sworn brother. Jin Guangyao returned the gesture and led Mo Xuanyu away.
Lan Zhan sent a questioning look toward his brother. Lan Xichen looked at him plainly and simply said, “Trust me.”
Lan Zhan looked once more to Jin Guangyao’s retreating back. With his black robes and long, dark hair swept up in such a way, the man beside him almost looked like someone else.
—
As he puts the Sky God’s Palace behind him, Lan Zhan is plagued with memories of the past. He usually tries to avoid Jin Guangyao as much as possible, because he knows very well that the man’s loyalties are fickle.
Years ago, when Lan Zhan was still a junior official, their followers were invaded by an outside clan. Gods do not interfere in mortal affairs, so they simply watched and waited for their followers to fight off the invading Wens on their own. As time went on, this outcome seemed more and more unlikely. The Wens had seized control of all their followers, setting up their own enforcement offices in the major cities of cultivation clans. The heavens watched as their followers were ground into the dust beneath the boots of their oppressors. They could not look away, especially when the Wens enacted this decree: They may no longer worship their own gods.
The Wens began destroying temples and punishing those caught hiding private shrines. The gods grew weak and restless. Most gods were reduced to wallowing pitifully in the awareness of their own diminishing spiritual power. In those days, Lan Zhan was glad for Wei Ying.
Lan Zhan first met Wei Ying when he visited the Lan Clan as a guest cultivator with his brother, Jiang Wanyin. The first time Lan Zhan laid eyes on him, Wei Ying was already breaking several clan rules. Mere moments later, Lan Zhan astonished himself by drawing his sword and breaking a few rules himself. Wei Ying laughed the whole time. Lan Zhan’s heart raced; it must have been the fight.
Wei Ying continued to prove himself troublesome and earned a punishment almost immediately. Lan Zhan shocked himself again by volunteering to oversee it. He kept his emotions locked away behind a carefully blank face, but the eagerness to spend more time with Wei Ying tugged at something in his chest.
The following days were spent sitting across from Wei Ying, nudging the boy back on task when he strayed from copying the rules. Sheets of paper bearing nonsensical (cute) little drawings would scatter around the room every time Wei Ying sprawled across the table between them.
“Sit properly,” Lan Zhan would admonish him and Wei Ying would groan before lifting his upper body from where it was draped before him.
On the last day of Wei Ying’s punishment, he gleefully announced he was finished before offering up a sheet of paper to Lan Zhan. He accepted it and saw that it was a portrait of himself. The portrait was very flattering; he looked very pretty in it. His chest squeezed to think that Wei Ying saw him this way. Wei Ying had flounced out of the library before Lan Zhan could react. He kept the portrait, as well as the copy book that Wei Ying had left behind.
Wei Ying left with Jiang Wanyin after just a few short weeks. He had sought Lan Zhan on the morning of his departure.
“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! I brought you a gift!” Wei Ying’s laugh filled the room for the last time and two bunnies plopped out of his arms and onto the table before Lan Zhan. He regarded Wei Ying with the same careful composure he always kept.
“Aren’t they cute? They’re a goodbye gift.” Lan Zhan thought he must have imagined the sad look in Wei Ying’s eyes because he blinked and there was a dazzling smile stretched across his face.
“Mn,” Lan Zhan replied, plucking up one of the bunnies. It was soft in his hands. The corner of his lips twitched. Wei Ying turned away in a flourish of black robes and called over his shoulder, “Think of me, Lan Zhan!”
Lan Zhan didn’t feel attached to many people. When he left everything behind to become a junior official under his brother Lan Xichen, he parted easily with his home, his teachers, his fellow cultivators. Even though he hadn’t seen Wei Ying since that last goodbye, he ached that he couldn’t say his farewells this time.
Luckily, Lan Zhan didn’t have to wait long to see him again. Most gods didn’t like Wei Ying’s attitude, Wei Ying had winced when explaining this later, but Nie Mingjue had laughed and offered to take him on as a junior official. Lan Zhan still didn’t see Wei Ying often, and he worried about the effect of all that time in the underworld, but he was comforted to know that they had taken this step together. It eased something deep in his core to know that Wei Ying would remain within his reach.
Life as a junior official was everything Lan Zhan could hope for, until the Wens attacked.
A god with no believers is nothing. A god with no believers will waste away into nonexistence. Thus was the state of the heavens, and for the first time, Lan Zhan felt helpless. He had even watched tension form between the brows of Lan Xichen. His brother had always been more expressive, more comfortable displaying emotion, but this one looked wrong. Lan Xichen’s face was never meant to twist this way.
Lan Zhan had resigned himself to idle meditation, to try to pretend everything was normal until he couldn’t anymore. Just then, the main doors of the Palace of the Sea God slammed open, and there was Wei Ying. He swept into the palace in a swirl of black robes and spun to take in the dignified hall. Finally, his gaze locked on Lan Zhan. His eyes crinkled shut, and he smiled.