lonelydream | INBOX (for eastbound)

It's quite rude to imply I have bad taste by wishing to get to know you, after I've said so.

[ That twinkle remains in his eyes as he sips his tea, otherwise serene as he lightly teases him. ]

[ He huff, then, a soft, amused breath. ]

You would get along very well with an old friend of mine, I think.

[ And it would be absolutely terrible for anyone they set their sights on. But Lan Xichen and the Nanning Wang are both beautiful and terrifying in their gentle intensity. ]

What does Master Lan wish to know? My story is really rather simple.

[ Success! ]

What you like, what you dislike ... Master Zhou is very private, I know that much, but it only makes me more invested in finding out these things.

I don't mean to make this difficult for Master Lan. It's simply that I don't think I've ever really stopped to consider such things before.

[ He simply didn't care, much of the time, and erred on the side of efficiency. ]

I like wine. I don't particularly like blood.

[ He knows how ironic that is, thank you. ]

That's a sharp dichotomy of areas to cover in two short sentences.

[ He straightens his smile before it can broaden too much, amused even as he relates. ]

I could say the same, although my little trick of using my golden core to burn up alcohol and prevent any drunkenness once made Wen Kexing very mad, so I suppose if he had his way I wouldn't drink at all.

[ "A waste". ]

Begging Master Lan's forgiveness for my ignorance, but... What exactly is a golden core?

Ah, forgive me.

[ It's so strange and foreign a concept, to think of someone not even knowing about these things. ]

Every cultivator has a golden core, in my world, and it improves over time. It strengthens your spiritual energy and physical body; the qi you saw emanating from Liebing was evidence of mine.

[ Being so carefree with it for a demo like that, Xichen has plenty of qi to spare. ]

On a more commonplace basis, I use my golden core to prevent inebriation during audiences, meetings ... that sort of thing.

Lao Wen and I are [ were ] two of the strongest martial artists of the jianghu, but I don't think that is something we are able to develop. Or--not that I'm aware or.

Though now it does make me wonder...

[ is that how Ye Baiyi achieved his immortality? ]

I will tell you all about this subject, if you like. I'm at your service.

[ Sounding happy about it, too! Also, knowing what he does from Wen Kexing about Zhou Zishu's health ... ]

Some become great warriors, others become artisans ... or healers.

Ah.

How much has Lao Wen told you?

[ After a moment, simply says, ]

He has been extremely worried about you.

[ Xichen knows, he says with a tactful look, that Zhou Zishu's prospects of living a long life back home are in flux. ]

[ His expression twists briefly, and he looks down at the teacup, wishing it were wine. ]

IMaster Lan, may I confide in you, with the confidence that you will not tell Wen Kexing?

Yes.

[ Zhou Zishu has been nothing but polite and respectful of Xichen, he can treat him the same way. That includes keeping a secret he thinks will upset Wen Kexing. ]

My condition is far worse than Lao Wen is aware of.

Circumstances at home--those that haven't yet happened for him--tipped my hand. If I were home, I would have days. Perhaps a week or two.

Not long.

Not the months or years he thinks I do.

[ Terrible. How terrible, he thinks, feeling the awfulness of it in the way he knows Wen Kexing couldn't handle the news. Zhou Zishu does not deserve this. ]

You are so young, how can nothing be done?

It isn't an illness, exactly. It's essentially a form of torture--one that I devised and inflicted upon myself.

And Wen Kexing knows this?

Yes.

Why did ... ? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask that, it's none of my business.

[ He starts again, reorganising his curiosity into something more helpful and less self-indulgent. ]

My brother and I can ease some damage with a transference of spiritual energy, he tends to use up his reserves on his husband who gets into ... trouble. Wangji would not want to be left without reserves in case of an emergency with Wei Wuxian.

But, I can at least see if your meridians work the same way as ours. Without a golden core, your qi would be stagnant without any way of travelling your body and mending it, as I understand these things. I am interested to know whether that is really true for you.

[ Like blood unable to pump without a heart. Xichen tilts his head, pensive and willing to help. ]

I am no professional healer but I have some knowledge of these things owing to my cultivation.

[ Mainly from helping his people after battle during the Sunshot Campaign, aiding those injured. At best, he supposes, he is an accomplished field medic in qi deviation, but there is no one stronger (to his knowledge) on the same path as him, back home. ]

Ask, if you'd like. It's the least I can do to thank you for whatever help you might be able to provide, though you may not like the answer you get. I am not a good person.

[ With a graceful motion, he draws his sleeves back a bit to lay his bare wrist on the table for Lan Xichen. ]

If Master Lan is willing.

After this, you should ask Lady Wen for her expertise: she will have more to add.

[ He lays two fingers on Zhou Zishu's wrist, warm skin-on-skin, and hesitates with a nod to the man's front. ]

Our golden cores are in our midriff, near the stomach. May I lay a hand on you there? [ His lips twitch. ] You may remain dressed, of course.

[ Scandalous behaviour in this tea-room!! ]

Yes, of course.

[ Zhou Zishu is of a drier humour than Wen Kexing, for sure, the differences between the two have Xichen mildly fascinated. Pushing those thoughts aside for now, he lays a palm on him too and closes his eyes as qi stirs and sinks into the other man, faint blue shimmering around his hands where it makes contact. The usual routes for qi are there, though the destruction of those meridians feels like corroded scars where Xichen passes over them. His qi is gentle and refreshing as it glides along the ruined pathways, infusing a very small amount of healing energy into them to avoid causing harm by an overload: Xichen's qi itself is as steady and deep as a mountain, a reliable source of relief if Zhou Zishu wants more.

His lashes flutter on his cheeks, all but meditating. ]

Does this hurt? How do you feel?

[ he inhales sharply, eyes nearly closing at the first sensation of qi sweeping through his meridians. he can feel Lan Xichen's qi sweeping through him, different from the firey warmth of Wen Kexing's, or the icy chill of Ye Baiyi's, or the gentle burn of Wu Xi's. Everyone's qi is different, and Lan Xichen's feels like a mountain spring, cool and calm and deep.

too bad Zishu's meridians are too damaged to properly appreciate it.

Lan Xichen will no doubt be able to feel the way his meridians are shattered and burst--focused along the seven points on his chest. By all accounts, he shouldn't be able to move or speak or do any sort of martial arts whatsoever. ]

It doesn't hurt.

[ Whatever his qi tries to heal feels like a dead branch, broken and browning with no hope of another summer. It's so sad. How can Zhou Zishu bear it? It's like pouring water through a river long turned to dust, nothing is there to get flowing and his own qi cannot heal, only soothe while actively circulating.

He focuses on the place where a golden core should be and tries to stimulate it, as if encouraging a young Lan disciple to cultivate their own. ]

What do you feel when I do this?

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