Jin Zixun had just been made to apologize for his rude behavior against Wei Wuxian. The Man had been livid, and had thrown something at Wei Wuxian, then there was a sudden flash of light and wave of spiritual energy so vast and powerful that it had thrown several people off their feet.
Not many had been aware or fast enough to react but Jin Zixuan, Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had noticed the feel of the coming force of spiritual energy. While Lan Xichen had been too far to do anything, he had turned in time to see it all happen.
Wei Wuxian, who had been standing on his own by the tree line was looking towards the source of the energy confused, and odd token glinting at his feet. Jin Zixun had been gleeful, while Jin Zixuan had a look of dawning horror.
Lan Wangji, had reacted the fastest and without a second's worth of hesitation, and pushed Wei Wuxian out of the way.
When the light had cleared, there was a large intricate circular array made up of foreign symbols seared into the earth Wei Wuxian had been standing on. Wei Wuxian was splayed on the ground only a few cun between him and the array, eyes wide and disbelieving. Lan Wangji was nowhere to be seen. Jin Zixuan's face was that of true horror, while Jin Zixun’s look of glee was quickly fading into that of confusion. Lan Xichen could not think, could only replay the last few seconds of his life. Could only re-watch in his mind's eye as his brother pushed Wei Wuxian to safety, only to be caught up in whatever that horrid Jin cousin had done. His Strong, brave and ridiculous brother. Next to him he can hear Jin Guangyao speaking but he can’t make out the words.
He does see Wei Wuxian, watches as the man shakily gets to his feet, words feeble, and his eyes search the area. Watches as his silver eyes turn red and his voice roars with a power he had not heard Wei Wuxian use at anytime but at the battle at Nightless City “Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan… LAN ZHAN! WHERE IS HE? YOU JIN-DOG, WHAT DID YOU DO TO LAN ZHAN?”
Jin Zixun had never been part of the front-line fights. Had only ever heard of the battles from others and seen some of the aftermath after they had been cleared of the battle remains, and for all that Wei Wuxian threatened to use his powers against troublesome cultivators, he never had done anything past what Lan Xichen now recognizes to be some slight showmanship tricks and whatever he did for today's night hunt. The resentful energy covering the area now is suffocating, so thick it is making it hard to see clearly, even dimming the light of the sun. Lan Xichen feels small in comparison to such power, but it isn’t even being directed at him.
From further down the trail Madam Jin is restraining Jiang Yanli and preventing her from going anywhere near Wei Wuxian. They must be too far for Wei Wuxian to notice, because he does not react to Maiden Jiang at all.
Jin Zixun is noticeably terrified, has fallen to his knees, movements frantic and uncoordinated and words unintelligible, as Wei Wuxian bears down on him. Jin Zixuan is trying to reason with Wei Wuxian and save his cousin, explaining more succinctly what he believed just happened. Explaining that the artifact his cousin must have used was believed to only be a transportation tool of some kind, that there is no cause to think that Lan Wangji has been injured. Promising to pass all information to Gusu Lan so that Lan Wangji might be found.
“If Lan Zhan was harmed because of your arrogant petty power hungry family Jin Zixuan, I promise you, I will bring the power of the Yin Tiger Seal your father has been panting over this whole time on the whole of the Jin sect’s main line”
As Lan Xichen hears those words he can’t help but agree. As he thinks about what he has witnessed these last few months, thinks about his brother's words on the Jin’s newfound status, his words of centure for leaving out the Jiang from his brotherhood, and how he has let himself be influenced by all those rumors of Wei Wuxian. Because he had, he let himself be talked into believing Wei Wuxian cruel and callous because of how he kept on rejecting his brother's help and how he kept refusing the Jin’s generosity and ignoring the Nie’s advice. He had forgotten the boy he had wanted his brother to befriend because that boy had grown into a man who showed how he had suffered pain and loss. But he was still that boy at his core- Wei Wuxian is confident in his strength, proud to use it for his causes- if still a bit impulsive he is also still righteous in it’s use. If Wei Wuxian had ever been truly power-hungry and mad this display would not be such a surprise, but common placed.
The oppressive atmosphere clears a bit allowing Lan Xichen the chance to catch his breath.
“Wei Wuxian, what right do you have to make any demands on the Jin sect! Lan Wangji is nothing to you, you are not even on friendly terms with the Lan” says another Jin cousin who had been far enough away to have not been terribly affected by the resentful energy, one even Lan Xichen can not remember the name of.
Lan Xichen reacts then, stepping forward as he sees the stricken look cross Wei Wuxian's face. “He has all the right to demand them, Do not think that Lan will not stand by them. I’ve long known Wei Wuxian to be my brother’s Zhiji. Since they met, my brother has acknowledged no other. Do not speak of things of which you know nothing.” Yes, his brother’s Zhiji, how could he have not realized that his brother’s Zhiji would have to have such a stubborn streak and be just as bad at communicating even if it Is very different from how is brother does.
Next to him he feels more than he sees Jin Guangyao trip. While Jin Zixuan stiffens even more. From his sleeve, he removes his special distress flare before lighting it. “Young Master Wei, please, focus on what we might do now. You have always had such a brilliant mind. Is there anything you might be able to do with the array that was left behind?”
Wei Wuxian seems to snap back more into the present. Eyes focusing on Lan Xichen, red dimming into their normal silver at the sight of him. Before he nods “Yes, your right Zewu-jun, I shouldn’t waste any time”
“Er-ge, what do you mean your brother’s Zhiji?” A-Yao asks, disbelief dripping from his tone.
“There is little more to say than that.” Lan Xichen responds, voice sharp and uncompromising.
“But their arguments- his use of demonic cultivation?”
“It was only Concern over his health, surely you’ve noticed how thin Young Master Wei has become”
Wei Wuxian flinches at Lan Xichen’s response but continues to study the array. Jin Guangyao on the other hand looks even more unsatisfied by the answer.
“A-Yao, Any more would be private matters between Young Master Wei and my brother. If you could see to helping Jin Zixuan in retrieving the relevant information needed to find Wangji.” Even though Lan Xichen still speaks with a smile curving his lips, there is an emerging pressure coming from his person, a contained burning frost Jin Guangyao had never thought Lan Xichen would have been capable of.
Soon the field is surrounded by Lan Cultivators rushing to the defense of their sect Leader, and even a few Nie disciples have come in response to the flare. Lan Xichen Is quick to secure the area for his Sect.
Jin Zixuan quickly makes his way over to Jin Guangyao after setting a few of his disciples to restrain Jin Zixun.
“A-Yao, how bad is it? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lan Xichen like that”
Jin Guangyao does not say anything right away, but that is enough for Jin Zixuan to know. If Jin Guangyao, his very quick and clever brother, is hesitating on how to respond then he knows this can end very badly.
Behind Jin Zixuan, Jin Guangyao sees a few Lan cultivators graciously escort Jiang Yanli to her adopted brother, even as Madam Jin is kept from following.
“Don’t let Father try and cover for Jin Zixun. We need to find all that we can about the artifact. The Nie will side with the Lan. As for the Jiang, it’s clear that we have lost them”
Jin Zixuan turns to see Jiang Yanli standing over her brother looking every inch the daughter of Yu ZiYuan as she sends out a distress flare of her own.
*
“Wei Wuxian’s Zhiji is missing? What do you mean he is missing?” Jiang Wanyin, isn’t an idiot. He can tell, that by the way they told him, they do not expect Jiang Wanyin to know who they are talking about. But how could he not know? The way Lan Xichen looks so insulted and his brother looks so inconsolable there can only be one person they are talking about.
“Yes, there was an accident and now he is missing”
“What could have possibly happened to Hanguang-jun in the middle of Phoenix Mountain to cause so much fuss?”
“You knew about Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-jun’s attachment?” Jin Guanyao asks, incredulous.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Anyone who has ever had to be in the same room as them must know. Especially those who attended the Lan sect courses with us. Shameless. I had to attend classes with them for months, and live with Wei Wuxian’s continued praise for second young master Lan for years. How could I not know? You can even go and ask Huaisang, he was there. It was memorable.” He shrugs, remembering that Jin Guanyao would of course not have known of how ridiculous his brother had behaved and the Peacock had been too full of himself back then to remember much.
“There must be some-”
“Did you think Hanguang-jun delayed his involvement in the front line of the war for 3 months to help me search for my brother for no reason?” but the Jin still aren’t speaking, they are looking decidedly vexed, so he turns to Lan Xichen.
“What happened?”
And even though Jiang Wanyin is sure he had been overly rude in his directness Lan Xichen does not seem to mind or does not notice, he explains. He explains how Jin Zixun had insulted his brother, how his sister had intervened and asked for an apology, how Jin Zixun had targeted Wei Wuxian afterward while others weren't looking, how Lan Wangji had saved him and how his brother had responded and the Lan acknowledged his intent and backed it. Jiang Wanyin can’t help but stand in stunned silence even as he feels Zidian spark to life in his hand. He looks down at his brother tracing the array on the ground, papers and books scared all around him as his sister stands by- a helpless look on her face. He looks desperate even with all these people around to see him behave like this. Not even their sister's worry and distress registering. He does not seem to care. It is only because of the Lan disciples standing guard all around his brother that more people haven’t seemed to noticed what this has done to him. His brother who is here now, honestly present in this moment even as he has been drunk, flighty, avoiding reality and lost in his dark thoughts since the end of the war. Even during the war if Jiang Wanyin honestly thinks about it. It has been this way since they found him and Jiang Wanyin has not wanted to think about what that could mean.
His brother who only ever tries when it has to do with saving people.
“Your nephew attacked my brother and heir? After he had already insulted my family, including my late parents!”
“Your heir- since when?”
“Since I became Sect Leader. There are only the 3 of us left, and he is my brother. Has it also not been made clear that my sister has no wish to become sect leader.” Jiang Wanyin pauses before continuing “Neither does my brother honestly, but he was trained alongside me so it can’t be helped. He is logically my heir."
"You expect us to believe that upstart arrogant power hungry monster doesn't have an interest in becoming a Sect Leader"
Jiang Wanyin Scoffs, imagining his drunkard brother, who skips out on practices and pretends to be three years old to get their sister to baby him as a Sect Leader “My brother avoids sect leader meetings and conferences as much as possible. He hates sect politics. He only came this time because-”
'I asked him'
'Shijie was excited to come even though she denied it'
'That mischievous smile that crossed his lips when he heard Hanguang-Jun would be coming with the Lan Sect'
He stops himself from saying more before looking over at his sister and the Lan sect leader “Because of personal reasons”
*
Lan Wangji isn’t sure what happened. One moment he is pushing Wei Wuxian out of the way in a Forest in the Phoenix mountain reserves and the next, he is on top of a large treeless spike-like mountain made of glass and smooth metal, surrounded by many other such structures. The air is thin, like it is in the lower mountain peaks, and the area loud, with odd sights and sounds. Even so high and far from the crowds, Lan Wangji is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of presence.
Lan Wangji tries to focus his sense solely in the immediate area. Taking in the odd smooth black stone he is standing on and the intricate but foreign arrayal work he is standing in the middle of.
'A transportation array?' He wonders. Lan Wangji takes in his surroundings better, and sees the large pads of what he believes to be dark smooth glass, as they open. He gets a small glimpse of the inside of what he had thought the side of a glass mountain but now realizes must be a tower, larger and grander than any he has seen
Just as he is wondering what he should do a man comes storming out from the tower. He is scandalously clad in only form-fitting trousers and a shirt that barely covers his shoulders, there is a light shining from his chest under the thin cloth, smooth metal boots and gauntlets, of red and gold that thrum with an energy and light Lan Wangji is not familiar with.
The man stops a good distance from him. One hand outstretched in obvious threat and warning. Lan Wangji can see and feel the energy coalesce in the palm of the metal gauntlet hand.
Lan Wangji instinctively reaches for his sword but stops himself from pulling it from its sheath, but continues to hold onto Bichen's hilt. The man is speaking to him, and coming no closer. Lan Wangji, can not understand any of the words the man is saying. They are foreign incomprehensible things, Lan Wangji is sure now that it must have been some kind of transportation array that has taken him so far from home he can’t even understand a single word the man is saying.
Lan Wangji waits patiently for the man to stop speaking to try and explain. There is still the possibility that the man might understand him. Lan Wangji keeps his voice calm and tries to infuse it with the confusion he feels. He knows others have a hard time reading his emotions and usually find him antagonistic, it would not be right to insult strangers unintentionally when he is the one clearly intruding.
“I apologize for my sudden appearance and my incomprehension. I did not mean to intrude on your territory. I was sent away … unexpectedly. I am Lan Wangji of Gusu Lan and I mean no harm.”
The man blinks in confusion. It is clear that he does not understand, but waits for Lan Wangji to finish. When he speaks again, Lan Wangji is unsure he is speaking to him at all. There is a long silence in which the man only stands there and stares at Lan Wangji, slowly the man lowers his hand. The man speaks again, but it sounds different this time, another language possibly, Lan Wangji is unsure.
Lan Wangji shakes his head and responds “I’m sorry, I do not understand”
The Man tries a few more times, and now Lan Wangji is sure the man is trying to find a common tongue they might share. Each time Lan Wangji responds just as calmly and succinctly, the man lowers his hand a little more each time until they hang by his side. Lan Wangji lets his stance settle back to normal and releases Bichen from his grip.
*
Tony was not expecting any visitors, especially not visitors from across the realms. The symbols now seared into his tarmac were similar to the ones he had seen the Bifrost leave, but they were not the same, Jarvis had noted the differences.
From the security footage, Tony could see that the man showed up alone. He looked confused and disoriented, doing nothing but taking in his surroundings. Still Tony is the only Avenger currently in the tower. Natasha and Clint were seeing to a small incident downtown, Steve was down at the SHIELD offices and Thor and Bruce were searching for Loki somewhere in eastern Europe. Thor was convinced that Loki had been reaching out to him and that he wanted to come back to Asgard and repent for what he had done. Tony, like all the other Avengers, wasn’t so sure but so far Loki’s tips and messages have led to good things, so the Avengers had let Thor and Bruce go on their own this time.
Is the oddly dressed stranger on his doorstep Loki’s newest prank? Had he been waiting for the team to be separated before he tried something.
The man is younger than Tony had expected now that he is standing in front of him, must just be in his early 20s, Tony thinks. He is stunning, with flawless skin, silky pin straight hair and eyes that seriously shine like gold, in ornate pure white robes Tony recognizes from period dramas, with only a visible sword for a weapon. Tony tries to question him but the stranger only looks more confused.
“Jarvis, do you recognize the language?”
“Sorry, Master Stark, but the language is not one that I can find in any of my databases.”
“Shit, well, can you see about learning it?”
“I will do my best Sir. If you could continue to prompt him to speak”
So Tony tries to speak with him in Mandarin, French, and Spanish not really thinking it would be likely he would understand but thinking it might make the man speak more. The man's responses are short and most likely to the point, but noticeably, he does not change languages. These interactions seem to settle the man's nerves, he relaxes his stance and lets go of his sword, which good, Tony does not want to fight the boy if he doesn’t have to, even if he doubts the ornate sword would do much damage.
Tony can’t help but let out a frustrated sigh. He is about to rub his temples to ease his headache when he remembers he is still wearing his gauntlets. He drops his hands to his sides an sighs long and deep.
This gets a reaction from the man, who calls out to Tony, before slowly holding up his empty hands, before carefully reaching into his sleeves and retrieving several blank sheets of paper. Tony is unsure how the man had stored those in his sleeves without them being crushed.
Then the man does some precise movements with his hand and conjures up some long flat string instrument out of nowhere.
“What the fuck!” Tony can’t help but exclaim.
The man bows and says something that Tony thinks must be an apology. He seems to wait for Tony before continuing. Tony can only shrug. “Yeah, it’s fine” Tony says as he makes dismissive get-on-with-it motions.
The Young man returns his attention back to the papers before slicing the pad of his pointer finger with the nail of his thumb and then proceeding to use his blood to carefully write on the papers. When he is done, he sticks the papers on his instrument, a Guqin, Jarvis provides. Then the boy begins to play. Tony has to admit the boy plays well, but he does not see the point in this.
Then the boy stops playing and looks at Tony expectantly.
Tony scoffs “Right, well, I don’t see what the point of that was but yes you play very well...” Tony trails off as he sees that the guqin is now playing itself as he speaks, the instrument stops not long after he stops speaking.
“What?” The guqin plays a few more notes and stops.
“What?” The instrument plays again, what Tony thinks might be the exact same notes as it did before. “Is it copying me? Jarvis, can you tell what is happening?”
When the instrument stops playing itself the Young man speaks, plays a few notes, pauses, speaks and plays a few more before gesturing for Tony to speak.
Tony had been watching the young man the whole time while Jarvis confirmed that the young man was definitely not playing for the purpose of music, but for communication, that by using Tony’s part of the conversation it was making creating a translation of both languages easier.
“I can’t say I’ve thought to use an instrument for translating. How does that thing even know what I’m saying- Wait no- I should start by asking. Can you understand me now?”
After the last of the notes finish playing the boy answers and plays a single note, nodding his agreement.
“Good, well, at least one of us can. My name is Anthony Stark. For now, Call me Stark. This is my home, Avengers Tower. What is your name? What do people call you?”
The young man’s reply is clear and to the point, palm down and pressing against his chest before he says in his clear and melodious voice “Lan Wangji” A pause “Hanguang-jun”
Then he plays his guqin, and seems to repeat his introduction with a few more words. “Master Stark. I am able to better understand the grammar of his language as well as a few more words. His name is Lan Wangji, as for Hanguang-jun, it is a granted or earned title”
“Right, well we can at least see about at least a few yes or no questions.”
The boy nods his agreement, plays two notes and speaks what Tony assumes to be “yes”
“Are you from Asgard?”
“No” Lan Wangji shakes his head.
“Do you know the nine realms?”
“No”
“Do you come in peace?”
“Yes”
“Did you mean to come here?”
“No”
“Do you know where you are?”
“No”
“Can you return home on your own?"
“No”
“Do you know how you got here?”
The young man stumbles over that answer and after a bit of a back and forth, Tony learns the equivalent of “I don’t know” and “Accident”
They continue on for a few more questions before Tony starts to feel bad about keeping the confused man outside standing on the tarmac and decides it would be best to have the man comfortable and not so jumpy by the time Natasha and Clint return.
“I think it might be best if you come inside. I have guest rooms you can stay in for the time being. But for now it is getting late and there are people I need to inform about your sudden appearance, hopefully I’ll hear back from someone about coming up with a way to send you home. I have a friend who might be able to help you but he will not be back for about a week, until then I’m not sure what else we can do. Is that alright?”
The man nods, and started to motion to put the instrument away in whatever space he had retrieved it from.
“Ah, wait. Can you keep the instrument out?”
Tony waits for the Guqin to play his words but it does not. Lan Wangji shifts a little unsure for a moment before placing his hands back on his instruments and playing the small piece Tony remembers him playing before. When he stops playing and looked up at Tony expectantly, he tries again. “Can you keep it out and working as I show you around?”
“Yes”
“Ok, good! So first this is the top floor lounge slash kitchen bar area- feel free to help yourself to the food, there is a conference slash dining room in the lower floors but we don’t use it much. The gyms are all in the basement levels. The guest rooms are“Tony continues his tour of the top floor of the penthouse, pointing out his rooms and the stairway before heading to the elevator.
He presses the button and waits. Lan Wangji plays something on his guqin and speaks.
Jarvis comes in through his headset “I believe he his asking about the elevator, Sir”
“Ah, this is an elevator, it is a faster way to go between floors, do you not have elevators?”
Lan Wangji says something that starts with I don’t know and gets progressively more complicated.
“Alright... That's, well ok. I’ll show you” Tony proceeds to narrate what he is doing and why as he enters the elevators and motions for Lan Wangji to join him. He presses the button to the guest room floor 3 levels down, points out what floor they are on and how to use the button system and then rambles about the basic engineering that goes into the creation of elevators as they descend to try and calm his twitchy guest until they reach their floor.
“It really is the best way to get around in buildings that are this large.” Tony continues as the door to the elevators opens and they arrive in the mostly unused floor. It was the floor Tony had made to house guests he didn’t want Shield to get their hands on but were also not people Tony trusted too much. Mostly Pepper had been using it as a spillover for corporate guests but he would have to let her know it is currently occupied indefinitely.
Looking over at Lan Wangji, Tony decides to give him an east-facing room, deciding he looks like a morning person.
He shows him his suite of rooms, the lounge area the bedroom and wardrobes, the mini bar and the bathroom When Tony sees the mild confusion when they walk into the bathroom, he turns the taps pointing to the cold and hot running water before shutting the taps. Lan Wangji looks surprised. So Tony does the same for the shower and bath, and flushes the toilet. Lan Wangji’s stoic face does not show much but Tony knows that for a man that had hardly reacted to being thrown across what is most likely the whole universe unexpectedly, this slight show of surprise must mean more than it would on a normal person.
“I see there is a larger technological gap between our worlds than I thought”
*
“Cap, there has been a bit of an incident.”
“What’s happening? is everything alright?”
“Fine mostly, We just have an unexpected guest, can’t understand him for the most part but he seems very polite and has been entertaining me with unique musical performances”
“Tony”
“Right, well, he showed up on the helipad like Thor sometimes does, left one of those complicated symbols seared into the tarmac dressed to the nines in an elaborate pristine white robe fit for the emperor of an Asian period drama. From what I understand he is not Asgardian, and he did not intend to travel here it was some kind of accident. Jarvis has been trying to translate his language so we can better communicate”
“And the musical performances?”
“Turns out his magical floating Guqin can translate what I’m saying to him pretty well, so I talked him into staying in a guest room until Thor returns. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him though.”
“Magical floating Guqin? I’ll be right there, Hill is coming with me”
*
Wei Wuxian can see it now. Understands the different curves and meaning behind most of the array work. It is very different from any transportation array he has ever seen. After several days of studying the strange language and array, he feels he has grasped enough of it to determine a destination.
The Lan that have been guarding him this whole time have been eyeing him wearily for the past few hours, something he has come to know means they are worried. From experience, he knows he has until the next guard shift before Lan Xichen will arrive to force him to rest. Truly, he has come to better understand the Lan. Sneaky people who are not above tattling to their Sect Leader or his brother and sister when he has been working too long. Without their constant meddling, he is sure he might have been done by now.
Wei Wuxian huffs, displeased and confused by all the Lan support and polite kindness.
For now, it is something to worry about later- for now, he still has time to continue his work.
The other tokens that the Jin had provided for him to study- Nine in total- had made it much easier to grasp enough of the mechanics behind it for Wei Wuxian to be comfortable in recharging the tokens and trying again.
He is confident in his Understanding of the patterns need for such a transportation array but It is the power needed to make it work that will be difficult. Several of the tokens were broken or lacking the necessary energy to activate so he is unable to use them as a power source. He will have to figure out how to substitute the power the tokens use. It is tricky work but It is, however, very much far from impossible.
He sets about starting the necessary work.
There is nothing that will stop him from finding Lan Zhan and bringing him back.
Extra:
Tony: “What is a Guqin you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It's like a giant Guitar fret- Just the Neck, no head or Body - that in this instance Floats!"
Steve: "Tony"
Tony: "And how is it Stevy, that we have a name for the instrument, but we can’t understand his language at all? "
Steve: “Ah, I’m sure it-”
Tony: “I'll tell you what it means. It's just like Thor all over again. Some kind of legendary boy god has come to visit Earth. I just hope he does not have a crazy black magic-wielding brother of his own we will have to deal with as well"