Chapter Text
Everyone was deliberately ignoring the major elephant in the room.
Sect leader Yao was talking about the newly established bridge between him and a neighbouring sect, but other than that, his monologuing felt like a waft of fresh air compared to the big giant elephant they were facing. It was as if the very white, very visible, and very much alive bunny (or in this case bunnies) that the Sect Leader of the Qishan Wen was petting (and wasn’t THAT a surprise) were but a figment of everyone's imagination. In all honesty, the sects- even the big ones like the Lan’s, Nie’s, Jiang’s, and even the Jin’s- couldn’t comprehend that the Wen Ruohan was calm, let alone attending an actual cultivation conference.
(the bunnies , in his lap, might have had something to do with that.)
But that begs the question, where the fuck did he get bunnies as white as Gusu's snow.
Even Nie Mingjue, who has for a long time been very outspoken about his hatred for the Wen clan was baffled at the sight of a Mad man who was slaughtering everyone in his way a few months ago, holding a pair of cute fluffy bunnies. The person in question and the disciples that followed him had carefully and silently taken their assigned places in the (arguably tense) room. Nie Mingjue was even more appalled at the sight of Wen Ruohan indulging in said bunnies, letting them snuggle against his robes, giving them treats when they behaved well, and even petting them with what seems to be love?!
All of this greatly shocked everyone and they found the actions of the ' new Wen Ruohan' very unnerving as this drastic change in behaviour was ought to come with consequences
One would wonder what had made him change so drastically.
3 months ago.
There were bunnies following him.
That, naturally. Was very, very odd.
Wen Ruohan was walking down an isolated pathway leading to the flame palace. He had just come back from his trip outside when he came across a pair of snow-white rabbits down the road.
He didn't think much of it at first. Yes, bunnies in Qishan were unheard of and a very unusual sight. Since the place didn’t naturally have bunnies, especially ones as white and pure as these. Nonetheless, the carefree Sect Leader chalked it up to some irresponsible farmer accidentally letting loose his bunnies, and they somehow happened to wander very far from their grazing grounds.
This, of course. Did not concern him. And it was most definitely not his responsibility.
But yet, these odd pair of bunnies did not stop following him.
At first, Wen Ruohan thought they might stop after a couple of seconds. a couple of seconds turned into ten minutes. Then those ten minutes turned into fifteen minutes. Which then turned into twenty minutes.
And so on so forth.
In all honesty, Wen Ruohan admired these bunnies' dedication to follow him. Maybe even slightly impressed. Usually, animals- or just, any living being in general- avoided him. And for a good reason too. He was aware of the happenings behind his back- the way his people looked at him with fear in their eyes, the way people gossiped about how ‘yet again the Wen sect has gone too far’ or how ‘ a war may be approaching soon'. His own blood looked at him with utter fear. And he very much understood why. He did. What with all the people he has massacred, the sects he has decimated, and the power at his fingertips. He does not mind fear, he actually very much likes it. Fear is good, the more people are afraid the less likely they'll be to disobey. And that is very, very, good.
But yet... These bunnies, compared to all those people did the exact opposite and approached him. Naturally, he praised their bravery. They were intriguing, and they had most certainly captured Wen Ruohan’s eyes.
They had the potential to become spiritual animals if trained right.
So with his mind already made up , Wen Ruohan turned around, grabbed the bunnies. and walked back to the flame palace.
He saw potential. And he’ll damn well make that potential his to keep.
“Stay,” he said with a firm voice.
Wen Ruohan set the bunnies down in his room. Letting them adjust to the place As they were placed on top of his large bed, they looked around curiously. Hopping softly on the plush bed and sniffing his bed sheets. Wen Ruohan stood there and observed their actions. He tried intimidating them with his aura. And for a second, he thought he saw one of the bunnies flinch sharply- all before relaxing and continuing to nibble on the sheets of his bedding. While the other bunny remained blissfully ignorant of his aura in general.
( If he were someone lesser, he would have found the nibbling to be endearing, though unfortunately, he's not. )
( No its not cute, he doesn't do cute fuck-)
Once again, Wen Ruohan was amused by them.
When one of them started to paw at the wooden bedframe, nuzzling it with its head it once or twice, only then Wen Ruohan proceeded to pick them both up and carried them yet again. Heading for the palace kitchens this time.
Servants and officials alike passed him. Glancing at the white balls of fluff in his arms then at him before widening their eyes and effectively lowering their heads bowing to him in courtesy, before scurrying away to whatever their jobs would entail...
He found it utterly hilarious at how much they feared him. Yet it felt great, the sheer power and influence he had over these people was amazing.
Wen Ruohan knew they probably weren’t expecting him to be roaming the palace halls, and that's why most of the people that passed him looked at him with shock displayed on their faces. Granted, he rarely ever came out of the throne room or his office anymore, uninterested in sect affairs and opting to let senior disciples or elders handle them.
That night hunting trip a few hours ago, and this trip to the kitchens is the first time in a really long time where he has gone somewhere out of his own sheer will and not because of someone requesting his presence or state affairs of the utmost importance.
Those times were quite annoying. He would have been much more inclined to spend time in his throne room looking up more ways of improving his (already splendid) cultivation instead of wasting his time and effort for people who didn’t deserve it.
If he looked back, there were only two people who he thought were worthy of his attention. Wen Qing, the head healer that was his pride and joy , and Zhao Zhuliu. Better known as Wen Zhuliu or the core-melting hand. Someone who was ever loyal to him, and only him.
He had seen the potential in those two- the potential to grow into something much, much more- and he saw it once more in the two bunnies he was holding as of now.
Entering the kitchen without knocking, he examined the silence he was presented with. With an unamused look that promised execution should they look at him the wrong way he said,
“Well? Have the people of my sect stooped so low as to blatantly stare at their own sect leader without so much as a bow of courtesy?”
And with that, as if it was a curse being lifted, the occupants of the kitchen quickly bowed and muttered out an apology to their sect leader. No doubt scared out of their minds because of what they had just done.
Wen Ruohan won’t execute them, at least. Not yet.
He had a pair of bunnies to tend to first.
With that thought in mind, he flagged a scurrying servant near him and asked the poor boy to get him a small basket of assorted vegetables- ranging from leaves to carrots, and even fresh grass.
Once that was done, still carrying the two balls of white fluff, he carried the basket of assorted vegetables and headed out to the palace's back forest where he knew he and the bunnies wouldn’t be disrupted by officials and trusted disciples alike.
Yet again people who passed by him were shocked but kept their mouths closed for fear of execution and by extension, their entire family should they needlessly gossip about the trivial things that the sect leader does.
The servants and officials of QishanWen were confused, and rightfully so. Yet, they were hindered by fear of Wen Ruohan himself to act upon their curiosity.
"Have you heard?"
"Yes yes! Have you heard?"
"Shhh be quiet you two! Of course, I've heard, who hasn't?"
"Then you must know the latest news! Our Zongzhu still hasn't killed them, and it's been three days!"
"And did you know? Last morning, a-Xia found our zongzhu playing with them, can you believe it??"
"I know I know, yes I believe it! Quiet down, quiet down! A guard might hear us and execute us for this!"
"Aiya, I will I will,"
"Fine fine,"
Something was wrong with their sect leader.
A-ming, who was but a servant in the flame palace, could say for sure that their sect leader had finally done, or even did inflict something upon himself because of how he acted these days.
Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud, but practically everyone in the palace knew that Wen Ruohan came back from his trip outside with two white bunnies. And not for the cooking kind of activity.
Honestly, A-ming was amazed yet also terrified at how their sect leader still hasn't killed those bunnies yet. Usually, their sect leader wouldn't entertain anything (aka his not-kill-anything streak) for more than three days. It's been a week . And those bunnies (from the gossip a-ming hears around the servant quarters) were still in the palace, still in and around the hallways at times, and still loitering about with their sect leader.
This new change, of course, prompted outrage and confusion. Albeit silently.
(Because there was no way they were risking execution just so they could gossip about their sect leader. No way.)
Often whenever he'd be stationed to clean or tasked to take care of the inner parts of the palace (where he, and others knew their sect leader's quarters were at) he would catch a glimpse of their sect leader, with the two bunnies in his arms, calmly walking to the pathway leading to the back forest.
The first time he saw it, a-ming felt faint . He felt as if he was drowning deep in the river of DeNial at the sight of their- calm, collected, not angry, not raging- sect leader holding bunnies , and couldn't swim back up to the surface for air.
A-ming has worked in the palace for a decade, and he's seen all the horrid things the palace has to offer- including everything horrible their sect leader has done.
But never has he felt this feeling of confusion mixed with terror at the sight of their sect leader, a week later. Still with those bunnies, still taking them to the back forest, and those bunnies? Still alive to tell the tale.
Of all the places Zhao Wen Zhuliu expected to find his master, he never expected to find him in the palace's back forest. Seeming to be playing with a pair of bunnies. If Wen Zhuliu had been bolder, he would have found it hilarious, or even amusing. But because he’s ever so faithful and loyal to his master, he found it rather confusing than anything.
How exactly did his master get his hands on a pair of bunnies?
When exactly did this happen?
Better yet, how are they not dead yet?
The only explanation he could make to explain the situation he was faced with right now, is that his master- Wen Ruohan of the QishanWen sect, saw something in these bunnies. Wen Zhuliu didn’t see what it was yet, but his master saw something that made him bring back a pair of white bunnies who- even more confusingly,were unfazed and unafraid of the sheer intimidation his master was omitting.
While bunnies were rare, white bunnies were unheard of in Qishan. Perhaps they wandered too far from Gusu..?
Then, like a deer upon a carriage, a voice blinked him out of his thoughts.
“Zhuliu, what are you here for? Don’t stand there like some stalker. Come here.”
And Wen Zhuliu, being the ever loyal soldier, carried out his master’s orders and walked closer to him and the two bunnies who were oddly sitting still in front of his master.
(and weren’t bunnies supposed to be energetic and not so still like the ones in front of his master?)
His master called again, “Sit down,”
And instantly, Wen Zhuliu sat.
It was unusual to see his master like this. Calm and serene as if contemplating something that he could quite decipher just yet. Gone was the man that for the past few months had been slowly and slowly been driven into madness by all the experiments with demonic cultivation that he had been doing, gone was the man that was a bit (re: very) off in the head. And here was the man that was the reason Wen Zhuliu is so loyal to him. The reason why he had shirked his Zhao name and adopted the Wen name. This calmness that spoke of a higher knowledge, this fiery and explosive confidence that spoke of a being stronger beyond what Wen Zhuliu could imagine.
That was his master.
The man that he had devoted his entire life to following was finally back, and Wen Zhuliu could never have been more relieved. He had been so sure these past months that there’d be a day in which war came. And he’d have to be in the frontlines killing all those innocent cultivators with a heart of stone and without remorse. But now, with what seems to be his master’s sanity back. He isn’t so sure that that war might be becoming.
But even so, if ever he has to kill all those innocent cultivators who were trying to defend their home, he’ll be remorseful, yes. He’ll feel a pang of tremendous guilt that might threaten to overwhelm him, yes. He’ll feel regret for all the lives he’s reaped, yes. But he won’t ever regret his decision to be beside his master, who for all Guanyin knows, somehow found him. A lowly street child, worthy enough to study and cultivate directly under his teaching.
For that, he will pay back his debt to his master tenth-fold. That is, until the day it's finished.
His master turned to him with a complicated expression on his face, which was unusual of course. Rarely ever did his master put on that expression.
“Zhuliu… I've been thinking a lot this past week, and i need an opinion that's not solely mine. Do you… think it would be wise of me to be accompanied by spiritual animals ?”
…
Wait whAT-
Wen Zhuliu felt taken aback. Surely his master was merely saying that to him as a test..? In all his years accompanying his master, never had he seen master need or want help from anyone other than himself. Much less spiritual animals. He thought hard about what to say without insulting or angering his master, since his master’s temper was often unpredictable these days- a horrible side effect with the resentful energy he had been experimenting with.
Then his master spoke again, “Zhuliu, you mustn't be so cautious of your words so much. I am well aware of what everyone thinks of me." He paused. "I... Am also well aware of the... side-effects of what experimenting with resentful energy has inflicted upon my mental state. Or my state in general. Wen Qing has told me on multiple occasions the health risks that come with me doing this for the good of the sect and my ambitions. The Wen sect has to become the most powerful and greatest. As is told from our history. And what better way to do that then to experiment with a cultivation method no one has ever mastered before?” his master paused again, looking away from him and tilting his head to the direction of the bunnies as if contemplating on what to say to him. “Do you… think it would be wise of me to train these bunnies as my spiritual animals? If only to minimise the repercussions resentful energy has on me. I’ve heard from many sects and cultivation texts that spiritual animals help cultivators in emotional distress and can find sources of resentment in night-hunts to an extent. Though I could find a way to maximize that detection of skill. If I trained them hard enough.” his master then turned to him, his number 21 evil warlord smirk™ that he often practised for these kinds of situations displayed on his face. “So, Zhuliu. What do you think?”
"..."
This is the part where Wen Zhuliu was more confused and baffled than anything. He’s relieved, of course, that his master would finally take Qing-Guniang’s words to heart and get some sort of help for his dwindling mental state, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that out of all the options Wen Zhuliu thought his master would choose to help him with the resentful energy crisis, he chose the spiritual animal approach. And with the two bunnies that he has brought to the palace no less.
(Insert shocked face)
To an outsider or generally anyone else who didn’t know Wen Zhuliu (which was basically almost everyone) his face was the same stone-cold, passive and heartless thing that it was usually. Displaying no visible emotion whatsoever. But if one were to look closely (closer than normal, as the person has to be very observant) they would notice the blink-and-it's-gone twitch of his mouth, small. Almost not their furrow of his eyebrow, as he thought of what to say to his master.
After a full ten seconds of thinking, Wen Zhuliu finally spoke. “This one thinks Wen-Zongzhu is wise. This one praises Wen-Zongzhu on his ability to come up with a solution to Wen-Zongzhu’s… ailment. This one thinks that it would be wise to train these rabbits as spiritual animals. If only for Wen-Zongzhu’s health benefits.” slow. Well thought out and inexpressive. Classic Wen Zhuliu style.
Blinking slowly, he asked. “What will Wen-Zongzhu name his… companions?” curiosity overtaking his self-restraint. Silently hoping in his head that he won't get punished for being so bold in his questioning.
His master gave him a look, raising an eyebrow more in amusement and mirth rather than anger and temper. He turned away from him for a moment and huffed out a laugh (wait, laugh? His master rarely laughs sincerely these days, who are these bunnies and how have they changed his master so drastically?!)
Wen Zhuliu taked that as a cue that he will not be getting punished today. Hopefully. Thank Guanyin for this small mercy .
Then, his master turn’s back to him. Amused smirk on display and answers, “if you must know Zhuliu, i have bestowed upon them the names Liehuo and Xin yue. As a spirit animal of a leader of a great sect, they must have equally as great names.” he said with a tilt in his direction.
...His master certainly had great taste in names. Wen Zhuliu had to admit.
Wen Zhuliu merely nodded politely to show that he was listening to what his master was saying. And he was of course, very intently listening. Everything master says is important, whether it is horrid, or if it is wise. Wen Zhuliu will listen and carry out what he has to say with the strength and loyalty of a thousand or more men.
He thinks back to the names his master had chosen, Liehuo and Xinyue? They’re… good names, for equally as good bunnies, but with how quickly his master was to name them and latch on to them, it was almost as if he… had been planning on taking these bunnies as his spiritual animals since long ago.
But even if that's the case, Wen Zhuliu is just glad his master got help, even if it was with the two bunnies that were currently pawing at both Wen Ruohan and Wen Zhuliu’s robes. Tired of being still for so long and have now resigned to trying to climb up into their laps.
(and wasn’t that a surprise, Wen Zhuliu has known for a long time that animals were not particularly… fond of both him and his master. They can sense the danger they both pose to them and in turn, stray away from them, yet, these bunnies were quite different)
His master picked up the bunny that was pawing at his robes, handling it until it was laying on his lap. Stroking its white fur softly. Wen Zhuliu watched intently as his master handled the bunny with care so much gentler than what he has seen in all his years being by his master's side.
His master turned to him, nodding in the direction at the bunny that was still pawing at his robes- Liehuo, if he recalled correctly- the one with black spots of fur on its ears and head- with a look Wen Zhuliu translated to, ‘well, go on.’
Wen Zhuliu looked at the bunny, turning away from his master. In return, the bunny tilted its head and looked at Wen Ruohan curiously.
Wen Zhuliu blinked.
Here he was, the core melting hand. Having slain many cultivators yet instantly recoils at the mere thought of holding an animal?
Pathetic, if he were going by masters standards.
Carefully, as if scared that he might scare away the one non-human thing that isn’t deterred by him, he picked the bunny up. Putting it on his lap and letting it snuggle against his robes.
He was a bit surprised at first. That a bunny would willingly snuggle against him. But then again, he thought. These bunnies accepted and weren’t afraid of his master, so he thinks him in comparison wouldn’t be a problem for these bunnies as they were so bold .
After it snuggled against his robes, the bunny then peaked up at him. Its nose twitching and eyes blinking as it pawed at his arm. As if it were asking for… pats?
Wen Zhuliu, as cold-hearted as he was, couldn’t bear to deny the animal his master approved of when it asked for its pats. Slowly, as if testing whether or not it was still okay for his hand- a hand that had crushed so many cores, destroyed so many lives- was still allowed by the bunny for pats.
He shouldn’t have been surprised, when in fact, it did let him pat it.
Its fur was… soft, for a lack of better word. And with every pat and every stroke, Wen Zhuliu was starting to feel more comfortable with giving skinship to the bunny.
He.. liked it- like this. It was… nice. Nice to be able to get away, even for just a second, from the reality that was the Wen sect. Nice to be able to pat- and look how soft they were- the bunny in his lap.
Silently, he thanked his master for this experience.
Really, it was truly enlightening.
“...”
Wen ruohan huffed out a small sigh.
"Let go."
The bunny didn't let go.
" Let, go. " He tried intimidating it with a glare.
Xinyue looked up at him with something akin to defiance.
'no' it seemed to say.
He sighed again, this time regretting the fact that he taught the bunnies how to resist aura's intending to kill, and how they had so quickly picked up on it.
With a heavy heart (re: not) he said, "If i don't go, and you don't let go. Then how am i supposed to leave?"
Xinyue flicked it's nose, then proceeded to headbutt his legs from where it was holding them hostage (as much as it can really)
From its spot on Wen Ruohan's bed, Liehuo saw it's partner-in-crime at his feet, and decided to join in on the fun. Nudging and headbutting him from where it stood on its hind legs.
Fabulous, fantastic.
Now he was being held captive by not one, but two bunnies that he owned.
Him, a sect leader that was feared by many and envied all the same. Held captive by a pair of bunnies.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
With great reluctance, he finally picked them up and held them in his arms. One of them even proceeding to bury Itself inside his fancy robes and the other proceeding to climb him and settle at the top of his head. Snuggling into that intricately styled mop of hair that was his.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he (finally) deemed himself decent. Even with the two uninvited guests on him.
Stupid bunnies and their manipulative tendencies, if word were to get out that the sect leader of the QishanWen curbed at the sight of bunnies Wen Ruohan's sure he might start a war at the sheer embarrassment it would cause him.
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