Chapter Text
Zhu Yan is having the worst time in his entire existence.
He has just walked in on Li Lun feeding pears to Xiao Zhuo in the kitchen in broad daylight. Li Lun must have been cutting pears when Zhu Yan walked in. Xiao Zhuo was standing behind Li Lun, arms encircling the tree demon's waist, his hands resting on the back of Xiao Jiu in his sling. As Zhu Yan watched, Xiao Zhuo nuzzled Li Lun's neck and Li Lun raised a piece of pear to the dragon demon's lips.
Zhu Yan had turned around and fled the kitchen.
That's how he ends up in the courtyard sinking on to the lip of the pond as his legs give away.
But, the quiet scene brings him no peace. All he can think of is last night: Xiao Zhuo sitting in Li Lun's arms by this very pond, his head pillowed on the tree demon's chest as they watched the children play. Or how Li Lun insisted they read a medical book to Xiao Jiu when Zhu Yan walked in on them in the library. Li Lun had insisted that Xiao Jiu would recognize the knowledge from his previous life and become an accomplished doctor in this one, too. Xiao Zhuo had laughed and kissed Li Lun, then grabbed him close, encircling the tree demon in his arms before depositing the two children in the said demon’s lap. Then, he had proceeded to read an actual children’s book for the three of them, carefully tracing each word without acknowledging the eyes that eagerly followed.
Zhu Yan forces himself to stay put, though he wants nothing more than to flee to his desolate room. He hated waking up in the empty library, then stumbling into the Zhuo residence's receiving hall to see Xiao Zhuo's lifeless body in Wen Xiao's arms. Things had progressively worsened when he realized he was barely better than a human, devoid of the great power he once held. And then Xiao Zhuo had kept his pretty phoenix eyes closed for days. And then, Li Lun had stumbled into the bureau, bringing the young mountain goddess with him and planted himself firmly by Xiao Zhuo’s bed side. His presence could not even be contested since both Ying Lei and Xiao Jiu seemed hell bent on only liking Li Lun of all people.
Everybody had been baffled by Li Lun’s presence at the Demon Hunting Bureau and especially his devoted vigil by Xiao Zhuo. But Zhu Yan had been the only one to have noticed the soft look in Li Lun's eyes as he watched the slumbering figure of Bingyi’s descendent. Only Zhu Yan could recognise it since Li Lun had once looked at him with the same soft eyes.
Zhu Yan wiggles, uncomfortable on the pond's hard stone lip. He considers getting up and going elsewhere but eventually decides against it. He does not wish to stumble upon another happy couple, thank you very much.
It’s just his rotten luck that Wen Xiao went and fell for Pei Sijing while he was trying to cultivate himself back into existence. Some loyalty that goddess has! The moment Zhu Yan dispersed she went and fell for Pei Sijing! Zhu Yan thoroughly refuses to agree that Wen Xiao had been Pei Sijing’s since the day she walked into the bureau! He and Wen Xiao were tied by stronger bonds than some pesky mortal nonsense like attraction.
Zhu Yan huffs, smoothing down the front of his robes. His thick, expensive and richly embroidered robes. One of the numerous robes that filled his wardrobe in his room at Zhuo mansion.
Life is curious like that.
When the fateful blood moon set and Zhu Yan regained consciousness, all he had wanted was death. He spent eight long years ruminating how he should meet his death until one day he stumbled upon a group of cultivators at an inn just outside Tiandu. The men had been talking about the Zhuo heir who had come out of mourning and taken up the mantle as Commander of the Demon Hunting Bureau. They had spoken about the youngling with such reverence that Zhu Yan had realized that there's finally a worthy descendant of Bingyi to wield the Cloud Light sword to its full potential.
So much for scheming for death. Now he sits at the center of the Demon Hunting Bureau, swathed in silks personally chosen by that very heir of Bingyi.
Zhu Yan sighs and wriggles on the hard stone he is seated on. He closes his eyes and tries to meditate. He hates returning with almost no demon power at all. He used to be the strongest great demon in the two realms and now he is stuck as a stupid barely demon who is even weaker than Pei Sijing! He tries to regulate his breathing, letting the cool winter air—scented with osmanthus incense— soothe his agitated soul.
The Demon Hunting Bureau used to favour the classic Jiangzhen Xiang incense— classic, clean and uniform. The current Demon Hunting Bureau is vastly different from the one he knew, even to the point of using different incense. The bureau he remembers had empty halls and little life. But the bureau he walks through today is bustling with members moving at a hurried pace, occupied in thoughts of keeping both the mortal realm and Da Huang safe. There are mortals and demons, bowing their heads together over scrolls and missives, discussing best ways to neuter a threat or demons in the training grounds, teaching their mortal comrades the best ways to avoid demon attacks.
Everywhere he goes now, he is greeted with awe, reverence, or enthusiasm—a stark contrast to his last time here. There are no doors that are locked for him anymore. He was used to forcing his way in, battering against barriers, not having doors open at his mere presence. And that is giving him whiplash, making it harder for him to assimilate.
And just like that, he is distracted from his meditation. He sighs but keeps his eyes closed, pretending for a little longer but almost falls into the pond when something hits his knees. He lets out a shriek that would put Xiao Jiu to shame.
When he opens his eyes, his attacker is the little mountain god, smiling up at him with his chubby cheeks and little teeth.
“Xiao Shan Shen, I almost fell in!” he scolds, pinching the boy's cheeks. The boy bats at his hands.
“Baba will take you out,” Ying Lei finally says when the assault on his cheeks is over.
“No, I think your Baba would rather drown me,” Zhu Yan says, suppressing a shudder at the thought of Li Lun as anyone's 'Baba'.
“No,” The child says even as he vehemently shakes his head to drive his point home. “Baba likes Monkey!”
“Monkey? Who are you calling Monkey? I’m a white ape, I’ll have you know!”
Zhu Yan lifts the boy into his lap and mercilessly tickles him. The boy shrieks and howls, doubling with laughter. Then he starts to struggle, knocking off Zhu Yan’s balance. They both stumble and Zhu Yan tries hard to stop them both from falling into the likely freezing pond. However, before they hit the water, something stops their fall. Zhu Yan sits up and settles the child in his lap before he realises that what steadied him were vines. Vines that are still around his middle. He watches the vines in surprise as they stay there for a moment before they retract, almost sensually.
He looks up to see the Pagoda Tree demon—owner of the vines—sauntering toward him with a wooden basket in one hand and the little doctor in the other.
“Don’t drop my child in the cold pond, you stupid Monkey,” The tree demon says.
“Your child was trying to push me into the pond, you evil tree!” Zhu Yan exclaims.
Li Lun saunters closer and sits next to Zhu Yan, pulling a bowl and spoon from the basket. He offers Zhu Yan the bowl, who accepts it with a surprised silence.
“Fuqin made pear soup. Fuqin says Monkey got a cold!” Ying Lei explains, nodding his head like a sage old man.
“Don’t call him Monkey, Leilei. Baba and Fuqin do it because we are grown up. It’s disrespectful for you to do that.” Li Lun admonishes the child so gently that it almost brings tears to Zhu Yan’s eyes.
“What do I call him then?” The boy asks.
“Just call him Da Yao,” Li Lun says.
Just like you used to. Zhu Yan thinks to himself. He sips the famous pear soup, savouring the fact that Xiao Zhuo made it for him. Because Xiao Zhuo noticed him feeling unwell. Take that, Li Lun. He’ll never be wholly yours.
“Pei Gugu said I should call him Diedie,” Ying Lei says and of course Zhu Yan chokes on a sip of soup.