Brothel meme continued

[lastjinstanding]

Continued from here

Jin Ling had really hoped he'd have A-Yuan at his side for this, but he didn't blame the sweet man for being ill one bit. In fact, he really enjoyed holding him as they finished traveling up to Lotus Pier. He sends servants off the boat to arrange a discreet delivery of his ill and subdued guest to private chambers following Ling's disembark. He instructed only Fu Geming to carry A-Yuan with Liling.

Sadly, after that, he had to leave his pets in his servants care. Squaring his shoulders, he stepped onto the pier. He bowed humbly to all of his relatives and gave them each a proper greeting- or in Wei Wuxian's case, a cheeky one.

He was brought into the main hall and given the seat next to Jiang Cheng's throne. Wei Wuxian was seated beside him with Lan Wangji at the next seat. And yes, Wangji had been offered the throne but had chosen to stay at Wuxian's side. It was Jiang Cheng's wedding, after all.

Jin Ling is happy sitting to a nice cup of tea and some wine after a long day of travel with promise of dinner coming.

~~~

"Jin-Guniang, is the young master Zheng in this room?" A young, unfamiliar male voice asks. "I have some medicine I wish to offer if you'd announce me."

"Of course. Let me ask for you," Liling says in a warm tone. She knocks on Yuan's door and peeks in. She smiles when she sees him awake. She comes in and shuts the door behind her. "Zheng-gongzi? How are you feeling? A friend of Jin-zongzhu from the Lan Clan is here to offer you some medicine. Would you feel up to seeing him?"

Comments

[notaturnip]

Zizhen honestly can't tell if his racing heart is because of panic or poison, but he knows he doesn't like it. He sits on the bed after passing the antidote to Liling and tries to stay calm for the sake of his friend. It's not easy.

He frowns in confusion at Liling's comment when she hands over the tea, though as soon as he downs the cup he realises what she means. He thinks he might prefer to be poisoned. Much like Jin Ling he has to put a hand over his mouth to try and keep from throwing up.

"That's disgusting." he finally manages to get out.

~~~

Yuan is delirious, feverish, and when he opens his eyes they're unfocused even as he tries to look at Jingyi and his father. The whispered encouragements seem to be doing something to keep him calm, though, and he continues to cling to Jingyi - though his fingers are not particularly strong.

Wei Wuxian decides to bring Madam Mo back to Cloud Recesses - he'd like to have a nice long talk with her, and he feels as though his husband is going to want to as well, but right now he'd much rather be at his son's side. She can sit and stew while he deals with that.

He does make sure she knows, though, exactly who's been caught in the crossfire of her little plan.

[young_mistress]

"Yeah, Xiaoshu was a little crazy, but I swear this stuff works," he promises. He takes the cup Liling hands him with the juice he'd been drinking before in it. The mix of that plus the antidote is pretty revolting, but after another swig it doesn't taste as bad. He offers it to Zizhen.

He takes a few more shaky breathes before continuing. "Liling go back and tell Jiujiu we're okay and see that the servant is found." After she leaves he shakes his head. "I'm so sorry you just got caught in this too. I can't believe even with everything this is still happening! Why am I so hated?" Just how many people wanted him dead? Why couldn't they be stopped?

~~~

When they get through another round of bandages and Yuan is still struggling, Lan Zhan decides the only explanation is there's a poison. An infection wouldn't have hit this quickly though if they aren't careful he could have poison and an infection, which would no doubt be deadly.

He takes over providing spiritual energy and he slips his hand where Jingyi's was, allowing the exhausted sect brother to finally get medical treatment himself. Lan Xichen plays the qin for Yuan and his brother.

Lan Qiren shakes his head as he bandages Jingyi's arm wondering just what kind of trouble Wei Wuxian was going to cause once he arrived. The Yiling Patriarch wasn't known for having a mild temper, after all.

[notaturnip]

A little crazy? Zizhen's heard the stories, he thinks a little crazy is putting it mildly, but he's not going to call Jin Ling out on it - especially not right now, when an attempt on his life has literally just been made.

"It's not your fault," he tells him quietly once Liling leaves, frowning at the question "I don't think you're so hated. I think it's just a group of stupid people who have decided to dislike you for their own stupid reasons, and your uncle just hasn't managed to get rid of all of them yet. I'm sure it's not that many, they're just good at hiding."

He hopes, anyway.

"They'll get them all, and you'll prove them wrong, because you are a good leader."

~~~

Yuan seems to panic for a moment until his questing fingers curl around Lan Zhan's sleeve instead, and then he calms a little. He's at least still awake, sort of, though he's very much out of it and his breathing is weak.

Once Wei Wuxian hands Madam Mo over to some disciples to guard and warns them of the hell there will be to pay if she is not kept secure and ready for him and Hanguang Jun to interrogate, he goes immediately to find his family.

"Lan Zhan?" he almost bursts through the door, eyes seeking out their son and widening a little in panic - he had hoped to find something a little more sedate, a dozing junior freshly bandaged, or even awake and talking. The scene that greets him is... not that.

"What's happening? What's wrong?"

[young_mistress]

Look some people have daddy issues, Jin Ling had uncle issues. And daddy issues. And mommy issues. And just.. issues.

"How big though? Do you know how many people we've locked up or executed? I lost so many soldiers during that mutiny. What if I'd been alone tonight?" The last question being what he was really upset about. That was the current source of freak out even if he was tossing in the others. He couldn't walk. If Liling hadn't gotten back here in time and if Zizhen hadn't been here he would've had to try and crawl into that other room. He looks down at the vial. "I don't know how many of those are even left. How many times can it work before they find a poison this doesn't work on?"

If only Xiaoshu was still alive! Who else was even like him? Who else could do half of what..

"Wait a minute.." His uncle falling for Huaisang was incredibly hard to believe. Huaisang falling for Jiang Cheng? That might not be as hard to see. "What if Jiujiu is the one.. Zizhen! You gotta take those lessons and stay until we figure this out! I think Jiujiu is manipulating him!"

Jin Ling may have gone a little nuts.

~~~

"It's alright, my érzi," Lan Zhan says gently, brushing a hand along his forehead above his ribbon. "A-die is here and Jingyi is still very close by. He has a few cuts too, but he's okay. He'll be back at your side shortly. Your uncle, Xichen, is playing for you, can you hear it?"

He leans down and presses a soft kiss to his son's temple. He frowns at how hot the skin is. As he straightens, he hears his husband's voice. If Wei Wuxian was already back here that means they've been working on Yuan for a few hours already. He's gotten much more skilled since he had to hum/ sing and channel spiritual energy in a cave so long ago. He can continue the flow of healing magic even while speaking to his son and his husband.

"There's something in the wound that he's been fighting. A poison. I've tried drawing it out and giving him energy but it's resisting." He still has plenty of spiritual energy to give their son, but he doesn't know what else to try to pull the poison out that they haven't already. He's failing.

[notaturnip]

"...you think your uncle is manipulating Nie-zongzhu? Why?"

Because, yea, he's going to need a little bit of explanation for that one, Jin Ling, you're starting to sound a little bit unhinged. Still, it's kind of understandable given how many attempts had been made on his life recently.

"You don't have to worry about what if you'd been alone, because you're not. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere as long as you still need me." he'll have to send a grovelling apology to Jingyi, but they'll have their time together, right now their priority needs to be their best friend.

~~~

"A-die..." Yuan mumbles, his unfocused gaze landing on his father briefly, the tiniest spark of lucidity showing there. Everything feels so far away and hard to grasp, like he's dreaming - has it all been a dream, maybe? Every moment since he first lifted his gaze to look at Jin Ling... that seems a thousand years ago now, but his heart still aches for it, for him. He wants his family, too, and dimly he wonders if it's selfish to want both, to want all the things he never could have dreamed of before. He doesn't want to lose it now. He has to stay strong, for them.

Wuxian frowns at the news, considering their options for a moment before offering them to his husband.

"We would try Wen Qing's charm, try and draw it out together... or go and have a talk with Madam Mo and see if she knows what's been used." his tone is dark as he finishes.

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling stops himself. He can't really bring himself to admit Nie-zongzhu and his Xiaoshu are similar people even if maybe it was true to an extent. Also what would that say about his Jiujiu?

"No.. you're right. There has to be another explanation.." Which isn't exactly what Zizhen said. He rubs his temples feeling a headache coming on. He just really needs to get to the bottom of this. What if he built a really big army? They could just go and.. well, there wasn't a given entity to go fight. That was the whole problem! If there was a clear enemy Jiang Cheng would've cut them down by now.

"How do I fight something like this?!" He shouts in frustration. Wasn't there some spell the Lan clan had that could talk to dead people? What if he talked to his Xiaoshu? Who could cast that spell for him? Could he do it? He looks toward the mirror, lost in thought, not really hearing anything Zizhen might be saying.

~~~

"I'll go," Jingyi interrupts them. He gets to his feet and starts straightening his arms. "Trust me, Wei-qianbei, I can get it out of her."

Lan Zhan frowns uncertain he likes this plan, but considers their other options. "How long did it take you to make the last charm? Wasn't it several hours?" Although maybe it wouldn't take as long since he made one before. He wasn't sure.

[notaturnip]

The explanation is that they're very clearly in love, but Zizhen wisely does not voice that opinion. Besides, Jin Ling did point out how convenient it was that he overheard the things he heard, so maybe it was all just an act.

(It didn't seem like an act)

"I don't know." he admits with a sigh - he's never had to deal with anything like this "but I bet your uncle does, I mean he rebuilt the Jiang sect himself, I bet he had a bunch of enemies trying to take advantage of him while he was weakened, and... well, Nie-zongzhu probably had a lot of enemies too, people who thought they could do better than him, he had to deal with them, right? I know you don't like him, but you could use his expertise, right?"

~~~

Wuxian gives Jingyi an assessing look - he's not entirely sure he wants to encourage the kid to violence and intimidation, but he can also see the determination in his eyes.

"It took a few hours," he admits "I can do it quicker, now I know how, but we're still talking an hour or two... Jingyi, you shouldn't go alone... you're her target, we can't trust she won't try and take advantage."

He maybe shouldn't have said that so bluntly, woops.

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling's attention is brought back to the present and away from his mental breakdown he is edging toward when Zizhen mentions when Wanyin had been weakened. He also has a really good point about the Headshaker. That guy had to have lots of enemies with how ineffective he'd run Qinghe for a while there.

"Yeah, I think you're right. I think he could be helpful.. even if I don't like him." He rolls over onto his side and curls up a bit with a groan. He puts a hand on his pained stomach. Fortunately he didn't feel like he was going to throw up anymore, just like he swallowed a hot coal. "Fuck! This part lasted a while last time!"

It wasn't helping that he'd been hungry before this happened.

~~~

"Me? No! It can't be!" Jingyi gasps, feeling an enormous wave of guilt rush over him. His gaze moves from Wei Wuxian to Yuan and pales. This happened because of him? He doesn't understand why that would be but if Wei Wuxian says it, it must be true. All the juniors ended up getting banged up and Yuan's here dying because of him. He'd wanted to be brothers, not be the reason he suffered!

Lan Zhan looks from Jingyi back to his husband with a stern frown. Look what you did!

[notaturnip]

"...you mean I'm going to feel like this for a while?" Zizhen pouts - he's been trying to ignore the pain in the hopes it would go away, but apparently not. It must be worse for Jin Ling, he thinks, who was already still recovering, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant for him.

"We'll make sure to have Liling approved sweet buns waiting as soon as you're feeling better." he reassures, flopping back onto the bed beside his friend with a slight groan. "Why don't we just try and sleep it off?"

And tomorrow they could have a proper conversation with the two other sect leaders, unless Jiang Cheng decided to stick with his plan to go back to Lotus Pier.

~~~

Wuxian winces, pouting briefly at Lan Zhan before stepping away to put a reassuring hand on Jingyi's shoulder.

"When enemies do something like this, they are the one to blame and them alone, not you." he says firmly, guessing immediately what the cause of Jingyi's distress was "I just mean the last thing we want is for you to get hurt as well. I'll get the truth out of her and this will all be fine, okay?"

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling groans and decides his friend is secretly a genius. He doesn't bother hiding it anymore as he scoots up against Zizhen's side. He usually lays his head on the Baling native's chest with his arm around Zizhen's waist, but with how they're feeling he knows to avoid that. He settles for resting his head on his shoulder instead. His injured arm he keeps tucked against his own side cautiously not moving it as it quietly throbs.

It was too bad Zizhen was so in love with Jingyi, Jin Ling thinks idly as he closes his eyes. When this awful feeling goes away and his shoulder was feeling better he could really use a good fuck. His friend was attractive too and he could certainly show him a few things.. sigh. He won't be a bad friend though and try and seduce him. He won't. Probably.

Hmm, how could he find out if Zizhen even remotely saw him that way?

~~~

"But.." Jingyi begins, unsure. He's been through a lot over the last couple years, but his youth and inexperience could still be seen at times, like now. However, he trusts and looks up to the man talking to him more than his own family. "He wouldn't have been hurt if it wasn't for me?"

The concern for his safety while Wei Wuxian had to be losing his mind with worry over his own son brought tears to Jingyi's eyes. Lan Qiren shakes his head from nearby. Jingyi was so emotional! He was such a bad Lan! Xichen was also nearby thinking the exact opposite. He was so proud of him!

"I can be strong if I should learn to do this," he offers. He's willing to be taught and try to face his fear and this woman who wants to hurt him. Isn't it weak to let others protect him like this? If she's after him, then maybe this was his fight.

[notaturnip]

Zizhen is even happier than usual to allow Jin Ling to snuggle up at his side, since he's feeling pretty miserable himself. He gets comfortable with Jin Ling curled up at his side and closes his eyes as well, oblivious to what's going through his friend's mind in that moment.

Despite that, his thoughts are... not dissimilar, they're simply a much more innocent version. He's thinking about Jingyi, and how much he wishes he could curl up at his side like this, how nice it would be to wake up next to him - and whether or not he should be guilty for how much he enjoys sleeping like this with Jin Ling. He mostly wishes he could invite Jingyi here and they could all just sleep together in a comfortable tangle of limbs, though he'd feel bad leaving Yuan out. Maybe if he's getting settled Zizhen could convince them both to come for a visit, that would be nice.

He falls asleep imagining all four of them sharing Jin Ling's bed - there's more than enough space, after all.

~~~

"Still doesn't make it your fault." Wuxian tells him patiently "There's a dozen different decisions by different people that led to what happened today, and the only person truly to blame is the man who did it, and the woman who paid him to do it, the woman currently waiting for us to go and talk to her."

He frowns thoughtfully at the offer, considering how good of an idea it was. After a long moment, he nods.

"You don't have to do this, but if you really want to, you can. Not alone, though, it's not safe. I can come with you, or you can choose somebody else to accompany you."

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling doesn't sleep well and unfortunately since he's sleeping against Zizhen- or started out that way- his friend might not either. He moans from the pain in his stomach and from visions in his mind. The past attempts on his life from these poisonings to a wire around his neck that broke his heart, he shudders and whimpers.

If Fairy was still in the room, this wouldn't be so bad since she'd likely be on the bed by now helping comfort him but she's not. She's still helping torture deal with the servant and the subsequent perpetrator behind the attack. For the rest of Carp Tower, the night is raw with purple electricity and an irate uncle. Fortunately Huaisang is there to keep him from literally burning the place to the ground.

~~~

Jingyi slowly relaxes as he's reassured he's not to blame for this- at least not completely. It might take a while longer for him to convince himself he doesn't share some portion however small for Yuan being hurt.

"Okay," he says, giving in. He considers the options and gives Wuxian a pleading look. "Would you? Then I'll know I'm not being tricked." He has faith in his elders with the Lan clan but he also wasn't blind to how 'street smart' Wei Wuxian could be in comparison. If he was being allowed to learn with this, he should do his best to minimize how long it'll take to get what they need for Yuan to recover.

[notaturnip]

Zizhen isn't sleeping all that heavily because of the pain anyway, so he's quick to stir when Jin Ling's distress becomes more obvious. At first he isn't sure what to do, whether to leave him to sleep through it and comfort him in the morning, or whether to wake him up. When the latest heartwrenching whimper makes him almost flinch, his mind is made up, and he shakes Jin Ling's good shoulder gently.

"Hey... Ling? C'mon wake up." he whispers softly "It's okay, it's just a nightmare."

~~~

"Of course." Wei Wuxian says firmly - he likes Jingyi, especially considering the way he worries about Yuan, and he wants to support him in this.

He steps back over to his husband, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking down at their son.

"Just keep him stable for a little while longer. We'll find out what she knows and fix this, I promise."

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling whines softly in his sleep. The subtle reminder he's not alone was so nice and he curls tighter against Zizhen's side. Whatever this warm, wonderful thing is he wants more of it. He wraps his arm more firmly around his waist and if straight up bear hugging him wasn't shameless enough, he hooks his leg around his friend too. Zizhen you always wanted to know what it was like to be used as a body pillow, right?

He snuggles his face against the nearest part to him and sighs contently. This was better. He didn't even remember those awful things that were bothering him a few moments ago. He'll have to remember to ask Jiujiu if he can keep this.. whatever it was.

~~~

Jingyi bows with gratitude. This was one more time among dozens Wei-qianbei has gone out of his way to treat the young man well- better than his own family. If it wouldn't be frowned on severely and make him feel too weird about it, he just might have been grateful enough to hug the man. Fortunately his pride held and they were all spared that unlanylike-display.

As they left, Lan Zhan places a light hand on Yuan's forehead and closed his eyes. He feels for his son's spiritual energy while his other hand on his wrist was channeling in his own. Was this working? Was there any improvements? If he has to endure the death of his son after everything he's had to handle with Wei Wuxian, he's not sure he's that strong.

[notaturnip]

Well, Jin Ling was definitely not waking up, but he also doesn't seem to be having a nightmare anymore, so that's.. Good, right? Zizhen isn't sure, his best friend is wrapped around him like an octopus with his head on his shoulder and he's kind of glad they've slept at least vaguely cuddled up the last few days or Jin Ling would be really embarrassed when he wakes up.

Zizhen contemplates the best course of action for a moment longer before deciding it's late, he's tired, and this is comfortable and warm. He sighs, wraps an arm around his friend and lets himself drift off back to sleep.

~~~

Wei Wuxian nods at the younger man and then leads him out to go to the guest rooms where Madame Mo is being held. He makes sure to step in first, in case she tries anything, keeping Jingyi partially shielded with his own body.

Yuan is fully unconscious, now, but his spiritual energy is still strong and he doesn't appear to be getting any worse, it's almost as though he's just in a deep sleep.

[young_mistress]

Maybe Liling should've warned Zizhen that the poison or the antidote (she isn't sure which) can have some strong side effects..

Jin Ling has his arms around a boy with a painted face and a scandalous teal blue robe that keeps sliding off his shoulders. Sometimes it's gravity and other times it's because Ling helps it along. He's nestled against the sect leader's body, in between his legs. He's on the throne in Glamour Hall with his legs spread and hooked over the arms of a prostitute. He's not wearing anything underneath his robes that have been shoved up to his waist.

There are voices behind this boy, who he can't remember in this dream, voices he knows belonging to the elders of the Jin clan and the cultivation society. They're talking over business and other boring details, as though he isn't being ravaged where everyone can see. He holds back cries, not wanting to draw any attention to himself in case somehow they haven't noticed him. But it feels so good! He also loves this boy and it's only a matter of time before he knows he'll be shrieking his name.

Outwardly he groans. He pushes his hips against Zizhen, brushing his erection mere inches from where his friend's would be if he were hard too. He presses his face under the other man's neck, breathing in his scent even if it wasn't quite the right one. He knows he likes it and it's safe. He really, really wants to have what this warm body could potentially give him.

~~~

Madam Mo is being kept in the Mingshi, the watchtower where spirits are summoned. To be honest, the other Lan disciples weren't sure if they were going to need to prepare an exorcism or some other horrible task on her (or Wei Wuxian) when this was done. It just seemed smarter to be somewhere already designed for things to go messy. There are three disciples with drawn swords around her and she's bound and sitting on a chair in the center of the room.

"You have to listen to me! You can't let him get me! I'm just an old woman! I was crazed out of grief from my dead husband and son and- Oh my god! There he is! Someone! Help! HELP!" She shrieks seeing the two enter. "You brought the little bitch with you?? How could you do that?! He's the one who botched the whole thing last time!"

Jingyi frowns and looks at Wei Wuxian. There's a moment of doubt on his face. Wait, he botched things with the severed arm? He knew they'd gotten overwhelmed quickly but he'd thought that was just because they hadn't known what they were dealing with and they were just juniors. He'd called for Hanguang Jun as soon was he'd realized they needed help. He tries to think where he might have gotten things wrong.

[notaturnip]

Zizhen is a little turned on right now, maybe it's the same effect that Jin Ling is going through or maybe it's just something to do with the warm body pressing so wantonly against him. His own dream features white robes and teasing flashes of skin, a familiar laugh and warm arms around him, innocent kisses that slowly turn into something else as those layers of robes are stripped away.

He shifts closer to the warm figure next to him, seeking out the contact and friction that match what he's experiencing in his dream. The actual press of an erection against him seems to register, though, and he blinks awake.

"Ji-" he starts sleepily, and then remembers that, no, Jingyi isn't here, and the warm figure wrapped around him, the length digging into his hip, that's-

His eyes widen in sudden embarrassment and he freezes, unsure how to react.

~~~

Wuxian folds his arms, watching her with unconcerned amusement as she rants - until she starts throwing such harsh words at Jingyi, and then his eyes go hard and he frowns, stepping forward to ensure he remains just in front of the boy.

"He didn't botch anything, you old hag," he retorts "Lan Jingyi did surprisingly well dealing with a powerful and angry ghost that any cultivator would have had trouble with. He's not his fault that something so vicious showed up where it wasn't expected to be, which you would have known if you had thought to discuss the matter with anyone instead of planning some half-baked revenge that has poisoned my son." he finishes in a low, dangerous hiss.

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling shivers when he feels something wonderful hard against his stiffness. He rolls his hips forward, wanting more. One of his hands slip to 'Yuan's' face and tugs him down. He kisses lips with a desperate longing, wanting to show just how much his precious lover has been missed. The other slips into his robe, brushing past layers, seeking skin.

But.. he doesn't taste quite right? He kind of.. tastes awful. Like.. really bad. Antidote bad.

He draws back and blinks reluctantly against the dim light of the bedroom. He stares at Zizhen dumbly. Where'd Yuan go? He wants to ask but isn't quite awake enough to say.

~~~

The woman flinches and trembles. "My family is dead! I- I didn't mean to hurt your son!" She cries. It's hard to tell if her tears are real or not.

"Do you think she's gone crazy?" Jingyi asks peeking around Wuxian. She was old and how does a person act this emotional. However, this was a Lan disciple not used to watching someone hysterical trying desperately to get out of trouble. "Should we see if she's possessed?"

[notaturnip]

Zizhen bites his lip as Jin Ling rolls his hips against him, despite all his objections it still feels good, because the body doesn't really care what the brain wants. He's still debating what to do about any of this when he's suddenly being pulled in for a kiss and he's too shocked to react.

Then thankfully, blessedly, Ling pulls away and seems to be awake - only now Zizhen's cheeks are on fire because his best friend just kissed him and did he just cheat on Jingyi? Does that count?

He clears his throat awkwardly.

"Uh... morning?"

~~~

"She's not possessed, she's just facing the consequences of her own actions." Wuxian says coldly, staring the woman down and unmoved by her tears.

"You didn't mean to hurt my son but you did mean to hurt one of our disciples. Save your crocodile tears, old woman, and tell me what poison was used on that spear."

If it were anyone but Yuan injured, he might have been nicer, more understanding, but all he can see in his mind is that pale face and the blossoming blood on his son's shoulder.

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling gets a suspicious look on his face seeing how flustered Zizhen is and his gaze lowers. His cheeks start to heat when seeing his lips reminds him of what he just saw in his dream. Oh no! That must mean! But wait, there's more.. he keeps going and sees both the indecent way he's spread his legs, hooking one around Zizhen's and.. Oh god! His hand is in his robes too!

"Holy shit!" He gasps, scrambling back. "Wha- no.. I.. oh.. shit.. I'm so- so sorry! I.." Really wanted to screw you so apparently I tried in my sleep. "I didn't.. mean to.. you must really hate me right now!"

~~~

Lan Zhan's worry deepens as Wuxian and Jingyi don't come right back. He slips onto the bed and draws the young man into his arms. He doesn't care that his brother or uncle are witnessing this. They should see what a real father does when a child is sick or wounded not the bullshit they were raised with. A real man holds his son and kisses his forehead. A good father whispers to him encouragement and loving words while threading his fingers through his hair. The best father.. never lets him get hurt in the first place, which makes his heart ache with guilt. If he hadn't walked away from the group to chase that stupid tiger..

~~~

She looks ready to argue again, but thinks better of it. That nor the tears seem to be helping her cause, so with a heavy, shuddering sigh she tried to 'calm down'. She doesn't bother denying she meant to hurt Jingyi, even shoots a brief glare at him. However, the question has her raising her head.

"What incentive do I have to-"

Jingyi springs in front of Wuxian, cheeks flushed with sudden rage, and catches the woman by the scruff of her robes. "Listen here, woman! You tell us right now what was in this poison or we're going to make your son and husband come back and eat you starting with your feet while you sit there and watch! Now cut the crap and do as Wei-qianbei says!"

The other Lan clan disciples who had been standing there guarding her gape at Jingyi completely horrified. One of them looks like they're going to be sick.

[notaturnip]

"N-no, it's okay!" Zizhen says quickly - as awkward as all this is, he really doesn't blame Jin Ling for what he was doing in his sleep, and truthfully he'd much rather move on from this than get into any sort of argument about it or make Jin Ling feel guilty - if he felt like he needed to make up for it somehow, that kept it at the forefront of both of their minds, and it would probably be far better to try and forget it.

"You were asleep. I guess you were... uh... dreaming about something good. Anyway it doesn't matter, it's just... it happens, right? Let's just... laugh about it and then not tell anybody else about it ever." he chuckles awkwardly.

~~~

Yuan is still unconscious - his breathing is steady and his heartrate stable but he's unresponsive to being pulled into his father's arms, doesn't react to the encouraging words or fingers through his hair.

He feels it, though, somewhere in his mind, he hears those words and they bring him comfort, even though he's not really aware of it. They mingle into his dreams and soothe his troubled mind, keeping the nightmares at bay.

~~~

Wuxian's honestly about to start when Jingyi springs forward, and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise - he's impressed, though, at the ferocity the young man shows. The other Lans are too stuffy to appreciate it, but a nice graphic threat can work wonders.

Wuxian puts a calming hand on Jingyi's shoulder, effortlessly switching to 'good cop' as he gives the old woman a surprisingly calm look.

"Lan Jingyi here is my son's best friend, so he's understandably upset at the harm that's come to him. Lans can be ruthless when pushed, I wouldn't risk it, so as he so eloquently pointed out your incentive is that things are going to get very unpleasant very quickly if you don't tell us what we need to know. If you do, and your words cause A-Yuan to recover, we can have a much more pleasant discussion about what reparations can be made for your own suffering."

[young_mistress]

He rubs the back of his neck and nods, because, yeah, he was definitely thinking about something good. He tries to laugh at it too. "Yeah.. guess you're right. And we were talking about you and Jingyi and.. you know, earlier." He shakes his head and rolls onto his back with a huff.

"It's kinda too bad, you know?" Wait, no. Back up. He doesn't really want to start that conversation. "Never mind. Just.. should figure this thing out with Huaisang and get you to Jingyi as soon as possible." Then if he hires someone else from that brothel, Zizhen won't have to witness it.

~~~

"Okay, okay, I uh.. it's a toxin made from yellow capped mushrooms from the mountains. It's not something I'm too familiar with, I give you my word on that!" Madam Mo relents finally. "The leader of the town, Tian Niu, is the one who makes it. His brother is the one who leads the bandits who have the tiger."

How could a whole village and a group of bandits with a tiger still lose? It had seemed like some a solid plan until Hanguang Jun and Wei Wuxian showed up.

"Yellow capped mu- I know what those are!" Jingyi blurts out to Wuxian. "I know where the medicine is!" He takes off running toward the healer's where their herbs and remedies would be kept. He isn't as good as Hanguang Jun is at this, but now that he knows what they're looking for he remembers being taught this in class. Wuxian likely also knows, but the kid is hellbent on getting there first.

[notaturnip]

"Exactly," Zizhen agrees, because of course that kind of conversation was likely to put those thoughts in Jin Ling's mind, even subconsciously. It's all totally normal.

For a moment it seems like he's going to accept the change of subject, he nods along with what Jin Ling is saying because, well, he does want to get back to Jingyi, and he also wants to help his friend figure out what's going on here, but after a moment curiosity gets the better of him.

"What were you going to say?"

~~~

It takes Wuxian a second to catch up with what's going on, the toxin sounds familiar but he can't think immediately what it is or what the antidote is, and Madam Mo's explanation is hardly helpful. He's just wondering if he'll need to go back to the village and interrogate more of them when Jingyi suddenly blurts out that he knows what the toxin is - and more importantly what the cure is, too.

He opens his mouth to reply but he's already running off, so Wuxian turns his attention back to Madam Mo.

"You'll wait here until Yuan recovers, then we'll talk." he says, then turns on his heel and follows Jingyi up to the healers - by the time he gets there, his shoddy memory has provided him with exactly what the younger man should be looking for, so he knows he'll be able to confirm he's got the right thing. As long as he has, though, he'll let Jingyi save the day.

[young_mistress]

He was about to roll the other direction and attempt to.. sleep? He wasn't sure. He had a throbbing problem down below and an inability to leave the bed easily. What was he going to do? Kick Zizhen out? Make him watc- no! Not that one. He almost groans.

"Huh?" His attention snaps back to the other young man and he almost blushes. He really hadn't expected that comment to be pursued. He clears his throat and tries to pretend like he was way more relaxed than he felt. "Oh.. you know. That uh.. if we weren't talking about your very first time and stuff then it wouldn't be a big deal if two people in our situation were to entertain ourselves like that while you're here." As he talks he brushes some non-existent piece of fuzz off the blanket.

He hazards a glance at Zizhen after a moment. Just how freaked out did he just make his friend? Maybe he should add to it..

"I'm not saying we should! I'm just saying.. it's too bad we can't given your situation is all." Did that make things any better?

~~~

Madam Mo immediately starts begging to be let go as soon as the other two leave. Fortunately, the disciples are way more scared of Jingyi and Wei Wuxian than here so they don't budge.

Jingyi ends up needing a bit of help getting the proportions just right between three herbs to counter the effect. "We need to brew this and get him to drink it or rub it directly on his wound. We'll see how conscious he is."

He pauses before racing back to Yuan's side and glances about. With no one paying them any attention and seeing him being un-Lan-like again, he reaches out and hugs the older man gratefully.

[notaturnip]

"Oh." is Zizhen's oh-so-eloquent response, because that's about all he can manage for a moment or two. His cheeks are burning and he can't quite look at Jin Ling.

He's not... freaked out, as such, more just flustered and embarrassed.

"Yea..." he manages eventually, clearing his throat awkwardly "If I'd... I mean, you know, before, and if I wasn't in love with Jingyi, I guess it wouldn't be that big a deal, really, when you think about it. That'd probably.. solve a lot of problems..."

He's trying to sound cool and worldly about it but he's pretty sure he's failing. Still, after the initial wave of embarrassment starts to pass, he stares up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"I guess I never thought about doing anything like that with a friend before."

~~~

Wuxian is happy to provide the guidance he needs, but ultimately lets Jingyi be the one to actually make up the antidote, he thinks it'll help the younger man to be the one to actually fix the problem, it''ll help assuage some of that guilt he suspects is probably still lingering.

When he's hugged, he smiles softly and wraps Jingyi up in his arms and squeezes, the kind of proper hug he probably hasn't had in a very long time, maybe even ever, the kind of hug everybody needs now and then.

"He's going to be okay." he says, reassuring himself just as much as Jingyi "Let's just get this antidote to him."