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[equivocations]

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[misrepresentation]

❰ meng yao was lucky to escape from the unclean realm with his life. chifeng zun is many things, but permissive is not anywhere near the list — how could it be, when he has all of qishan wen bearing down his neck every other year? to be permissive is to invite insubordination is to invite the ruin of the clan, and all the other clans besides. the correct thing to do, according to qinghe nie precepts, would have been to take his life as justice for the life he took.

but nie mingjue has a heart, beneath all that rigid black and white thinking, and he couldn't bear to kill his trusted assistant.

meng yao is very, very lucky.

this is what he tells himself as he makes his way across the lands, trying to stave off infection in his wounded shoulder and figure out where to go next. who else might take him, what connections does he have, what contacts — not many that chifeng zun wouldn't admonish not to help him, and fewer still that he could come to without anything in return. there are no favours he can offer, no tokens — he needs to think fast, stay ahead of the wen, and come up with a strategy.

a strategy that doesn't involve running right into another of the wen clan's temper tantrums, preferably, except that he just keeps thinking of zewu jun. zewu jun whose cloud recesses are in ruins, zewu jun who might not even be alive —

no, he's ranked number one in the cultivation world for a reason. zewu jun is still alive, he must be. but his clan, his uncle, his brother — they may not be alive, and that would hurt zewu jun so much more than anything else.

still. it's foolish to run into gusu with no plan but "find zewu jun". meng yao isn't generally a foolish man.

he's stopped in a village at the border of lanling and gusu, trying to convince himself to just keep going, to find somewhere the wen haven't yet reached — maybe lotus pier, wei gongzi and jiang gongzi can vouch for his capability, he could make himself useful there —

when he hears his own name, and he looks up, wary, only to feel his heart jump into his throat. he opens his mouth to call out his title and begins to raise his arms for a bow, but — if there are wen spies here —

he switches tacks quickly, waves one hand and smiles and beckons zewu jun closer. forgive him for his impudence and play along, please! ❱

My friend! It's been too long. How have you been since we last met?

❰ are you injured? do you need healing? ❱

[equivocations]

[ It's easily forgiven, in part because Lan Xichen was already moving towards him - to catch his bow, of course, though for different reasons than because there could be spies about. His hand lowers when Meng Yao catches himself, though he keeps moving forward to join his side.

He barely knows Meng Yao, aside from the praises that Nie Mingjue shared with him and their brief moments in Cloud Recesses, but he believes he knows him well enough to understand that it isn't their previous conversation that makes him stop his bow. Even as he'd watched him leave, Lan Xichen had known that once wouldn't be enough to change Meng Yao's mind. He'd wondered if - hoped - he would get the chance to try to convince him again.

It's unfortunate that it's like this.

His small smile at the familiar greeting is just a touch grateful - of course Meng Yao already thought of it, what calling his title might do to draw attention to them, and took pangs to circumvent it. ]

I have missed you, since we last met.

[ And though he's playing a part - he's not, because his words are genuine. He stands closer than he might allow himself to back in Cloud Recesses, eyes flicking down and then back up Meng Yao's form to silently ask him those same questions. Only - well. It's less of a question, since Meng Yao doesn't look to be at full strength. ]

Shall we find a place to rest? I think we have much to catch up on.

[misrepresentation]

❰ he had been worried that zewu jun wouldn't understand what he was attempting to do would balk at the casual familiarity in meng yao's words, or insist he complete his bow — but meng yao should have known better. zewu jun is not ranked number one just because he's attractive and strong, he's also intelligent. when he responds to meng yao's greeting in kind, with fond remembrance and informality, meng yao's smile relaxes a fraction, and he stops his careful glancing about for spies — what a good actor is zewu jun, that he can make such silly words sound so genuine.

the way zewu jun's eyes flick over meng yao in assessment does not go unnoticed, but meng yao just keeps smiling, giving away nothing. ❱

Yes, I would like that. I wasn't planning on staying here for very long so I didn't look for an inn — do you have a room somewhere? I can try to find one. Or if you are amenable to a walk, I passed a forest on my way into town.

❰ passed through one, more accurately, and found a nice, sizable cave that could serve two fugitives well enough, at least for a night. ❱

[equivocations]

[ Lan Xichan is surely intelligent - it would be impossible to be the Lan Sect Leader if he were not - but as to the type of intelligence, well. His doesn't lend itself to artificial acting skills. In this case, they are fortunate that his burgeoning fondness for Meng Yao is genuine.

He knows well enough not to press further for an answer to the question he didn't ask - he had hardly answered Meng Yao's as to the state of his own health, after all, for this is not the place.

He has enough money with him for an inn, if they so chose, along with the scrolls and unbound books that are secreted away amongst his robes, but - they can't trust that he won't be recognized, if not personally then as a member of the Lan clan, and they couldn't truly talk without fear of being overheard. It's a quick decision. ]

I have not traveled very far yet. [ Much closer to a lie, and though he says it with a small smile and a neutral expression, it's not nearly as genuine. It feels as though he has traveled very far, indeed. ] I would appreciate the opportunity to walk a little further into the forest.

[misrepresentation]

It did look very tranquil. Shall we go? ❰ meng yao sweep his arm out to invite zewu jun to join him in walking, and then they're on their way out of the city. it doesn't appear as though they're being followed, but meng yao keeps his eyes peeled for any suspicious people as they exit the village, positioning himself just a few steps behind zewu jun so that he can get between him and any attackers that may follow — not that he could provide much use except as a human shield, but it would at least give zewu jun enough warning that someone was upon them that he might be able to put up a better fight than if he was surprised.

thankfully, there's no trouble as they make their way into the forest. either the wen haven't caught up to zewu jun yet — unlikely, but possible — or they didn't consider this one small village worth sending spies to — more likely, but not likely enough for meng yao to stake both his and zewu jun's life on it. he keeps his eyes and ears sharp while they wend through the forest, leading zewu jun with quiet directions.

when they arrive at the cave he had found, he wastes no time in dropping into a deep bow. ❱

This one offers his most humble apologies for disrespecting Zewu Jun.

❰ please don't be mad! you didn't seem mad but PLEASE DON'T BE MAD!!! ❱

[equivocations]

[ Similarly, Lan Xichen keeps himself angled just a little bit in front of Meng Yao, putting himself between him and any danger that may come as they moved towards the forest. He doesn't quite clutch the hilt of Shuoyue, but the hand that he would normally keep at the small of his back is much closer to where it rests on his hip.

Though of course, if he knew of Meng Yao's willingness to use himself as a human shield to protect another, he would - well. It speaks very highly of him, that he is willing to sacrifice himself to protect another, at the same time as he would fear it came from a place of not viewing himself as worthy as the one he saved.

But they reach the cave undisturbed, and although Lan Xichen knows that the Wen are still out there looking for him - for a moment, he allows himself to breath a sigh of relief at something like a place of safety.

In retrospect, he should have been expecting that - and perhaps he was, somewhat, because he reaction on instinct to catch Meng Yao's arms. ]

How could protecting my life be any disrespect? You must know who I am hiding from. [ His touch lingers, as it had the last times they'd come into contact, and allows himself to not pull away just yet. ] There's no need for that between us, most especially not now.