Chapter Text
Veiled in a shroud of dense wispy cloud cover, a myriad of magnificent stone structures lay recessed into an impeding mountainside. Sleek silhouettes jutted upwards through the fog, exposing the outlines of hidden granite temples as well as winding swaths of fine mansions adorned with glittering white roofs. Cloud Recesses was an ethereal backdrop hovering over the quaint river village of Caiyi town situated at its base.
The simple fishermen that occupied the Gusu community revered the mysterious Lan clan who called the heavenly hills home. Not many were privileged enough to see the collection of omnipotent alphas and celestial omegas draped in heavenly white robes in the clouds. The Gusu Lan clan cultivated in isolation, drawing power from the sky and the thousands of hardtasked rules they chiseled into the granite walls of their temples, rarely interfering in the matters of simple folk.
Isolationism was a policy the Gusu Lan were having trouble following in recent years, for even the people of Caiyi Town could see the fires of war burning on the distant horizon. The Qishen Wen Clan were laying waste to the lands, absorbing the weaker clans and skillfully avoiding those they were not yet equipped to fight. They swept over the land in a blaze of red flame and chattering ebony armor, their violent predilections stealing the virtues of many weak omegas and the lives of their guardian alphas. Yet, even with such atrocities plaguing their neighbors, the Gusu Lan did not descend from their clouds.
“Can’t they see people are dying?” a chubby man toting a long fishing rod over his shoulder commented as he gestured wildly between the orange flicker on the horizon and the misty mountains. “Why won’t they fight?”
“It’s because of the oracle,” a second man theorized as he stuffed his basket full of fishing line. “The Lan live and die by Oracle's predictions.”
“The Oracle of Gusu is just a myth,” the chubby fisherman scoffed, “No one has seen then in a hundred years. I think it's a fairy story.”
“No one is allowed in the Oracle’s temple except members of the head Lan family,” the other fisherman recalled, “The Oracle is said to be the most powerful Omega in the entire land. They possess a rare beauty no one is allowed to gaze upon.”
“So, if no one can see the Oracle, how do we know they’re beautiful?” the fat fisherman argued with a huff, “I say it’s all bullshit.”
Unbeknownst to the arguing fisherman, a third set of ears had picked up on their conversation and was listening intently perched on the bow of a nearby boat. A slender man wrapped in dark ebony robes made of rough fraying cloth lazily lounged atop a bobbing fishing boat with a piece of straw held between his teeth. The crimson ribbon that held back his flowing dark hair wafted in the breeze as he eyed the arguing men closely, his stormy gray eyes focused on the fresh collection of fish piled at the men’s feet.
The man’s stomach groaned in response to the fish haphazardly assembled in the dirt, their scales shining in the afternoon sun and fins flickering as they gasped for air. It had been almost two days since the man had eaten a proper meal, and he was plotting as to how to alleviate the chattering men of a few of their catch.
“The Oracle is always beautiful. We don’t have to see its face,” the thinner fisherman tried to convince his friend. “The Oracle wears a thick veil that can never be taken off to hide their face. If another Omega or a Beta were to lift the veil, he or she would be put to death.”
“What about an alpha?” the tubby fisherman asked, pounding his chest with one hand as if to indicate he were an alpha worthy of seeing the famed Gusu Lan Oracle’s face.
“Only the Oracle’s future mate can see their face,” the other man answered, “If you lift the Oracle’s veil, you better be prepared to marry them and stud a brood of stuffy Lan brats.”
“I still think it’s a fairy story,” the pudgy man laughed, turning away from the fish wriggling on the ground to jokingly shove his friend. “Those Gusu Lan bastards just made it up to keep people out of their lands. I heard Cloud Recesses has some of the most fertile gardens in the region. My fish would pair beautifully with a bed of Gusu Lan sweet carrots.”
“Too bad you’re not a cultivator. I’d like to see you force your fat ass through Cloud Recess’ wards,” the second man cackled, his laughter dying as he noticed their stringer of freshly caught fish was missing from the bank. “Shit! Where are the fish!?”
A frivolous fit of triumphant laughter echoed through the air as the man who’d been perched upon the fishing boat darted his way through the crowded streets of Caiyi Town with a string of freshly caught fish upon his leather belt. The afternoon breeze whizzed past his ears as he ran, a rainbow of colored banners in the town market blurring about him. He’d just stolen his first meal of the week and was not about to stop running until he had a safe place to roast his spoils.
Bolting around the corner of a crumbling brothel filled with frivolous women in gaudy gowns, the thief ground to a stop as the deep lavender of the Yunmeng Jiang clan filled his vision. It was unfortunate for the thief to run into a procession from the south during his retreat, for any other parade would have paid him little heed. Instead, the leader of the Yungmeng clan, who was sitting stilted and stiff atop his horse, turned his fierce gaze in his direction before calling his name.
“Wei Wuxian!” Clan Leader Jiang shouted, drawing the attention of the people in the street and causing the man to stuff his stolen meal behind his body.
“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian called back with a quick bow, before spinning on his heels and sprinting in the opposite direction of the parade.
There was no time to deal with the Yunmeng Jiang right now, for Wei Wuxian could feel his stomach gnawing on itself the longer he went without food. Months had passed since Wei Wuxian had seen Jiang Cheng, for the grumpy clan leader was bogged down with the trials of war, while he himself scampered across the land without a care in the world. War was for men with too much power, or those with families to protect. Wei Wuxian possessed no title, no political power, and he was an orphan. War was not something a street thief bothered himself worrying about.
Breaching the edge of the city, Wei Wuxian kept his path mostly to the forest, avoiding the road and the splashes of lavender he spotted through the dense underbrush. If Jiang Cheng thought he could curry favor from the Gusu Lan recluses to help defend Yunmeng from the Wen, he was insane. The Yunmeng Clan leader’s volatile temper would not allow for a productive negotiation with the neutral Lan.
Moving further from the road, Wei Wuxian climbed upwards away from the river bottoms of Caiyi Town and into the shrouded mist of the mountainside at its back. The fisherman he’d stolen his meal from had mentioned lush gardens filled with sweet carrots hidden somewhere behind the high granite walls of Cloud Recesses. Though he could roast his spoils without the accompaniment of tender vegetables, the thought of biting into a fresh carrot wouldn’t leave his thoughts.
Wei Wuxian was confident that he could push through Cloud Recesses’ wards, scale a back wall, procure an armload of vegetables, and scamper back down the mountainside without being caught before his stomach managed to shrink into a shriveled unusable ball. While he had not been directly raised by a cultivation clan, Wei Wuxian had studied cultivation alongside Jiang Cheng in the lotus ponds of Yunmeng as a small child. The Jiangs had taken pity on the tiny orphan they’d caught snatching lotus seeds from their backyard, offering to take him in, but being turned down by the wayward orphan.
Instead, Wei Wuxian spent his youth learning to survive on his own while plucking cultivation lessons from his only friend, the heir of Yunmeng Jiang, Jiang Cheng. As such, his core was strong and stable. It bound his sword, Suiben, to his side, and aided in his wandering.
At the age of thirteen, Wei Wuxian had presented as an alpha, something not uncommon for boys skilled in traditional cultivation. Yet, his scent had been strong and his pheromones thick, attracting many of the Yunmeng Jiang omegas to his side and making it difficult to stay close to their alpha heir. Jiang Cheng’s presentation had been much weaker than his own, causing the Lady of Yunmeng, Madame Yu, to force Wei Wuxian away from Lotus Pier and her son, deeming him a bad influence and distraction to his preparations as a future clan leader.
After leaving Yunmeng and the traditional instruction of the Jiang, Wei Wuxian had picked up many crafty tricks in his travels to add to his skills, making his style of cultivation uniquely his own. Breaking into a garden for a midnight snack, even one owned by the reclusive Gusu Lan cultivators, would be a simple task. Wei Wuxian was driven forwards by the challenge of stealing from such a mysterious clan as the Lan, as well as the rumble inside his stomach.
It was nightfall by the time Wei Wuxian reached the perimeter of Cloud Recesses. The moon had risen full and bright in the sky, casting the misty hills in cerulean light and both aiding and hindering his mission. While he was glad that it was easy to see in the shimmering moonlight, Wei Wuxian lamented the absence of the cover a darker evening would have provided him.
In the distance he could see a high wall carved out of pure white granite. It thrummed with a pulsing power that rippled and moved like a placid lake. The ward was strong, but Wei Wuxian was optimistic he’d be able to punch a hole in it just large enough for one man to enter. Removing a sliver of paper and a tiny sewing pin from his pocket, Wei Wuxian approached the wall, before pricking the end of his pointer finger with the sharp metal pin and drawing an intricate symbol onto the paper using the blood that seeped out of his skin.
The wards waned as he held out the talisman, blood magic being something most respectable cultivators did not practice. A wicked smile curled across Wei Wuxian’s handsome features as his talisman flared red and a crack began to form in the wards. While the Gusu Lan were rumored to be powerful cultivators, their strict rules distracted them from the possibilities of crafty tricks, leaving their wards vulnerable to those who were clever enough to pay no heed to pure principles.
Slipping through the crack he’d made, Wei Wuxian allowed the wards to close neatly behind him, fearing a prolonged breach may set off unwanted alarms. Stowing his talisman away for his escape, Wei Wuxian curled his long thin fingers into the cool cracks of the granite wall and hoisted himself upwards. Scaling the wall was just as easy as cracking the wards had been. Wei Wuxian’s wiry musculature and superior alpha strength made quick work of the height.
Poking his head over the crest of the wall, Wei Wuxian looked down to see which section of the Gusu Lan fortress he’d managed to breach. To his adalation and utter amazement, a lush emerald garden dotted with rows and rows of bountiful plants stretched out beneath him. Though he did not know how he’d managed to choose the exact wall he needed to climb, Wei Wuxian was not about to dismiss his great luck. He was also fortunate to find that the garden seemed to be unattended at the moment.
Eagerly hopping over the top of the wall, Wei Wuxian slid down the other side like a silent breeze, his skills as a stealthy street thief rivaling his talents as a crafty cultivator. The scent of rich earth filled his nose as he landed softly on the ground and made note of the various crops available for plundering. Tapping his chin with a single willowy digit, Wei Wuxian surveyed the bountiful bushes, stalks, and tufts of greenery for the perfect combination of delectable deliciousness to compliment the string of fish still swaying from his belt.
Now that he was on ground level, most of Wei Wuxian’s view of the garden was blocked by a massive wall of corn stalks. They towered over him like a chartreuse fortification speckled with collections of golden kernels. While corn was sweet and tender, it took too long to roast the cobs into the perfect consistency for consumption. No, Wei Wuxian was on a mission to acquire the famed Gusu Lan carrot. Corn was not a suitable substitute.
Diving through the maze of shadowy corn stalks, Wei Wuxian paused halfway down a row as the scent of another occupant of the garden filled his sensitive nostrils. Tilting his head upwards to catch the wind, Wei Wuxian felt his chest clinch with need as the luscious scent of an influential omega filled his lungs. Not only was he not alone in the garden anymore, but whomever had entered possessed a scent his alpha instincts urged him to pursue.
“I’m here for carrots,” Wei Wuxian told himself, shaking his head as he tried to ignore the enticing omega hidden somewhere in the emerald greenery. “Only, carrots…,”
Turning in the opposite direction of the tantalizing scent, Wei Wuxian breached the edge of the corn to find he was standing in a vast carrot patch. Puffs of white fur dotted the ground amongst the green heads of carrots buried deep in the dark earth, each one belonging to a loppy eared bunny with a twitching pink nose. Wei Wuxian counted a dozen rabbits in total, their presence amongst the carrots curious.
“Those are for me, you mangey rodents.” Wei Wuxian quietly scolded as he watched a pair of rabbits try to pull a large carrot from the dirt. “Move out of the way.”
Gently kicking his way through the carpet of fluffy bunnies, Wei Wuxian dropped to his knees and began jerking carrots out of the soil. The scent of the mysterious omega grew closer the longer he worked, adding urgency to his movements. The last thing Wei Wuxian wanted was to be spotted by some Omega Lan gardener out for a midnight stroll in the corn. Stuffing his pockets full of his spoils, Wei Wuxian climbed to his feet and turned to make his retreat back through the corn, only to step on the ear of a nearby rabbit and elicit a high pitched shriek from the tiny creature.
“Quiet,” Wei Wuxian shushed the bunny, before bending down and scooping it up into his arms. “I’m sorry. Are you alright…,”
“Mr. Floppy.” a name was provided from inside the corn stalks, the voice not registering quite yet in Wei Wuxian’s awareness.
“Mr. Floppy…,” Wei Wuxian addressed the rabbit, before looking up with alarm as a tall slender omega draped in flowing white silk emerged from the shadows.
Wei Wuxian’s posture went rigid and he clutched Mr. Floppy protectively to his chest as the aroma of rich sandalwood mixed with the pungent pheromones of a ripe and dominant omega male imbued the crisp night air. The man looming before him wore a set of snowy white robes that hugged his broad chest and cinched inwards around his thin waist. The sleeves were lingering and expansive, the thin white fabric moving softly around his long arms and hiding his hands from view. Every inch of the man’s robes were covered in the faint pattern of swirling clouds.
What gave Wei Wuxian the most pause wasn't the omega’s alluring scent, or the fact he’d just been caught stealing, but the wide circular hat looped over the man’s top bun, and the thick white veil that encircled the brim. The headpiece that adorned the omega’s bun was made of shimmering silver, the design weighty and intricately curved upwards towards the sky. It secured the hat on the man’s head, preventing the veil from being removed before the headpiece itself was painstakingly deconstructed. The veil rested on the man’s broad shoulders and swayed back and forth as he moved, giving away not a single detail of the face that lay behind the opaque curtain.
Wei Wuxian vaguely recalled the conversation between the two fishermen on the docks early that day, the details of a veiled Lan oracle skimming through his mind. He had little time to settle on a clear conclusion before the veiled omega was moving towards him with wide steps. Wei Wuxian stumbled backwards, almost crushing a few innocent rabbits beneath his feet as he did so. The veiled man stopped in his pursuit and gestured downwards to the pile of white bunnies Wei Wuxian was about to step on, his movements alarmed and laced with angry tension.
“Sorry,” Wei Wuxian apologized, gingerly hopping over the hungry bunny pile and putting the lump of rodents between him and the mysterious omega, Mr. Floppy still clutched to his chest. “Are these yours?”
“Mn,” the man replied, his voice deep and resonating behind his veil.
“Keeping rabbits in your carrot patch isn’t a very wise choice, Mr. gardener.” Wei Wuxian advised, deciding that this man was most likely the keeper of the vegetables and his hat and veil were nothing more than tools to keep out the hot sun when he worked, for as the fat fisherman had proclaimed, the Oracle of Gusu was a fairy story. “Your crop is going to be devoured before harvest time.”
“Or, stolen.” The intimidating omega returned, his hand shifting lower and bringing Wei Wuxian’s attention to the sword attached to the man’s belt.
“Now now, I don’t want a fight, Mr. Gardener,” Wei Wuxian tutted, clicking his tongue against his teeth as he studied the weapon closely, the sword’s sophisticated silver sheath and complex ivory inlaid handle not something a simple farmer would have the honor of carrying.
This was the sword of a cultivator of high status and power. It thrummed with cerulean vehemence siphoned directly from its proprietor’s gleaming golden core. Wei Wuxian took another step back, his own simple sword no match for the spiritual weapon on the omega male’s belt.
“Your sword is impressive,” Wei Wuxian complimented as he slowly inched his way across the carrot patch. “I’ve never known any omega cultivators who could carry such a taxing spiritual weapon. They’re bodies are too weak to cultivate the strength needed to wield a sword of this kind.”
“I am not weak,” the mysterious omega returned, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
“I can feel that,” Wei Wuxian agreed, the omega’s strong scent making his head swim. “Your pheromones are potent, Mr. Gardener. I’d watch yourself around alphas with poor control over their instincts. Fortunately, I’m strong enough to keep myself in line.”
“Are you?” the omega asked, his deep voice making Wei Wuxian swallow nervously and quicken his backwards steps.
In reality, Wei Wuxian was having trouble keeping his alpha urges bridled. The sandalwood infused pheromones of the mysterious omega called to his own rich alpha spice, pulling his scent from him in a way Wei Wuxian had never experienced before. Growing up, he’d heard stories of alpha and omega pairs being drawn together by their complimentary bouquets, as if fated to mate, but just like the fisherman’s wilde tales of the Oracle of Gusu, such things were only fairy stories.
Suddenly, the distant sound of voices echoed on the cool night breeze, accompanied by the spicy scent of alpha warriors. Wei Wuxian froze, his grip on the rabbit in his arms tensing and causing the innocent fluffball to squeal in alarm. In one fluid motion, the veiled omega abruptly lunged forwards and drew his elegant sword from its sheath, his movements graceful, as if he were dancing under the cerulean moonlight.
Unfortunately, Wei Wuxian was unable to reach for his own weapon, which hung at his hip beside the string of slowly rotting fish, for his arms were occupied by Mr. Floppy. Instead, he launched the poor white rabbit into the air with an unbecoming shriek, his voice echoing with the panic he felt in his chest and not complimenting his alpha status. The intimidating omega ceased his attack in favor of catching the wayward rabbit before Mr. Floppy impacted the ground.
Wei Wuxian spun on his heels and made a move to retreat, but was blocked by a blur of motion inside the corn as a group of Lan warriors neared their location. Having no choice but to proceed in the opposite direction, Wei Wuxian haphazardly shifted back towards the compelling omega, losing his footing in the process and tripping over a pile of rogue bunnies.
Arms flailing out in front of him, Wei Wuxian grabbed hold of the first thing his fingertips could reach in an attempt to slow his fall, which unfortunately happened to be the hem of the appealing omega’s thick white veil. The sound of fracturing fabric reverberated in the moonlit air as the omega’s veil was torn from the brim of his hat and relocated in Wei Wuxian’s panicked grip. Instead of hitting the ground, Wei Wuxian’s face impacted the omega’s broad chest, his nose smashing into the alluring man’s unyielding pectorals and causing a burst of pain to vibrate through his face.
Scrambling to rise back to his full height, Wei Wuxian found himself staring into a set of caramel eyes. They were narrowed and filled with a pronounced rage conducted directly towards him. Instead of moving away from the venomous stare, Wei Wuxian found himself knotting his fingers in the illustrious omega’s cloud pattern robes and angling his head back just enough to observe the magnificence of the once veiled visage he was now privileged to survey.
Despite the ferocious snarl coloring the omega’s plush lips, Wei Wuxian found the planes of the man’s elegant chiseled features to be resplendent. He had a lofty nose that swooped down his face to widen slightly at the tip. His cheekbones were high and covered in a thin layer of fat that softened the angle just enough to read beautiful, and hint at his omega status, yet his jawline was prominently angled and defined, a feature normally reserved for alpha males.
Wei Wuxian knew that his own facial features normally confused those he ran across as well, for his eyes were large and alluring, lips bowed and pouting, and cheekbones high and prominent, all aspects typically reserved for the fairer omega, yet oddly placed on a notorious alpha. The juxtaposition of hard and soft angles on the formally veiled omega’s semblance, accompanied by his rich sandalwood infused pheromones, drew Wei Wuxian in closer and made his lips twitch in want of a stolen kiss.
“You’re pretty,” Wei Wuxian found himself whispering, his voice shaking and shy.
The compliment only seemed to enrage the omega male even further, causing his lips to curl back over his teeth and nostrils to flare.
“Let go,” the omega snarled, his voice deep and vibrating into Wei Wuxian’s chest where it was currently pressed flush against the handsome man in front of him.
“Wangji!” a worried voice shrieked from the direction of the corn stalks as the sound of swords being unsheathed rang in the air.
Wei Wuxian swallowed nervously in response to the commotion, but for some reason his hands refused to untangle from the omega male’s robes and his feet wouldn’t carry him away.
“Let go of him!” the worried voice shouted as a frigid silver blade slid across Wei Wuxian’s throat and he was forced to let go of the satin knotted in his hands. “How dare you remove Wangji’s veil! Who are you?”
“I…,” Wei Wuxian began, not sure if it were wise to introduce himself, even though his name held little meaning to many. “Wangji? That’s a nice name..,”
“I asked you a question!” the new voice shouted as an older cultivator with a thin beard etched across his handsome, yet weathered, face stepped in-between Wei Wuxian and the omega he now knew as Wangji. “Who are you? How did you get in?”
“I was just out for a stroll and decided to grab a snack,” Wei Wuxian only partially lied. “The fisherman in Caiyi Town said the carrots in Cloud Recesses were the best. If it is a matter of payment, if you’d allow me to access my purse I may have a few copper coins left..,”
“These carrots are grown specifically for the Oracle of Gusu’s rabbits,” The bearded cultivator informed, offense present in his gravelly voice. “They are worth more than copper coins. Now, answer my questions.”
“Why should I tell you who I am, when you have yet to introduce yourself.” Wei Wuxian boldly declared, paying little heed to the sword at his throat.
“I am Lan Qiren, uncle to clan leader Lan Xichen, and chief officer in charge of guarding the Oracle.” the bearded man replied, “Tell me who you are before I have your head removed for trespassing.”
“Uncle,” Wangji said, the anger in his voice now even and calm. “You cannot kill him. He’s seen my face.”
“All the more reason to take off his head,” Lan Qiren argued, “Nephew, he…,”
“He’s an alpha,” Lan Wangji simply added, as if that meant something different in regards to Wei Wuxian’s punishment.
Lan Qiren narrowed his eyes, before sniffing the air and stomping his foot when he caught a whiff of Wei Wuxian’s alpha spice. An animalistic noise left Lan Qiren’s lips as he gestured for the Lan warriors at Wei Wuxian’s back to place him under arrest. Not one to be apprehended so easily, Wei Wuxian ducked away from the sword at his throat, the acuminated blade biting into his flesh and leaving a thin line of crimson staining his skin.
Though he managed to rid himself of the sword at his throat, Wei Wuxian’s freedom was short-lived. As soon as he spun around Lan Qiren, a squirming white rabbit was shoved into his arms and a much more intimidating blade was pressed against his belly. Wei Wuxian found himself yet again face to face with Lan Wangji, the formally veiled omega holding him at swordpoint as Mr. Floppy defiantly bit his wrist.
“You can have the carrots back, Mr. Gardener.” Wei Wuxian offered, “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Keep them,” Lan Wangji answered, keeping his sword poised against Wei Wuxian’s stomach as the Lan warriors produced a set of ropes from their flowing white robes and reached out to bind their new prisoner.