Two lone figures stand at the foot of a massive mountain. One of the figures is clutching his waist, out of breath while the other stands behind him.
“Man, are you” huff, huff, “sure it’s here?” Suddenly, lightning flashes at the highest peak of the mountain, followed by a downpour.
“Well, I guess that answers that, then.” The out of breath person responds to their own question, looking up.
“Two hundred years cultivating and you’re just at this stage?” The figure standing at the back quips.
“Says the person who’s spent 800 years pining after a guy who still doesn’t realize it.” The figure in front replies without changing his face.
“Shut up Bai!”
“Who attacked first, Ren?”
That’s right. These two figures are Yin Bai and Jiang Ren, after Huo Ran’s emergency call asking them to find Mo Lan.
The two rush up the mountain, tramping through the forest. “Argh, why don’t we just fly up on our swords?!” Bai groans, after being bitten by an insect for the nth time.
“If a mortal sees-”
“There’s no one here, come on! Besides, it’s an emergency.” Pulling out his sword, Bai rushes to the top, leaving Jiang Ren to follow him. At the highest peak sits Mo Lan, clad in all white, looking as unapproachably icy and serene as always, however the raging lightning and thunderstorm surrounding him betrays his mood.
“Alright, who’s doing the talking?” Bai asks, turning to the side. Jiang Ren gives him a look. “Should’ve known.” Bai sighs, turning back around.
“And who started this whole mess?” Jiang Ren calls out from behind him.
“-But I’m good at talking so it’s fine.” Bai comforts himself, patting down his windswept clothes and conveniently ignoring Jiang Ren’s quip. “Alright then…” He slowly steps towards Mo Lan, at the eye of the storm. Standing behind Mo Lan’s sitting back, Bai softly calls out. “Err…My Lord…” The other shows no sign of having heard.
“My Lord!” Mo Lan remains immobile. Bai scratches his head for a minute then, hit by a flash of inspiration, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a…pouch. The drab brown pouch looks rather out of place with Bai’s stylish attire but when he reaches in, it quickly becomes clear that the pouch is more than it seems. It’s a qiankun pouch, a mystical pouch with the ability to hold far more than it appears to be able to. After several minutes of groping and grabbing, he finally seems to find whatever he’s looking for. Then he pulls out a…massive megaphone. Seeing it, Jiang Ren’s heart leaps and he rushes forward: “wait-”
“MY LORD MO LAN!” Silence. The thunder freezes, the downpour suddenly stops and Mo Lan whips his head around. Seeing his frigid eyes, Jiang Ren flinches but Bai is undaunted.
“IT’S ME BAI, I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING, IS THAT OKAY???” Mo Lan stares at him for a moment. His brow furrows and that frigid gaze transforms into one of confusion and annoyance as if he’s thinking what in the world is this idiot doing?
“ALRIGHT THEN!” Bai says, hopping over to Mo Lan. He takes a deep breath to speak.
“Ahem, megaphone.” Jiang Ren’s snarky voice comes from behind him.
“OH YEAH!” Bai quickly deposits the megaphone into his qiankun pouch and turns to Mo Lan, clearing his throat.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Have you heard Huo Ran sing?” At the word “sing”, Mo Lan’s eyes grow colder as he remembers the loving rendition of “City of Stars”. Unaware, Bai continues on.
“My Lord, I know that you want Huo Ran to cultivate and he can but you can’t stop him from doing what he truly loves! He loves to sing! He’s always loved music, he can bask in it morning, day, and night! Don’t tell me in your centuries of knowing Huo Ran you’ve never heard him sing or hum or play an instrument? It’s like breathing to him! Surely, you’ve seen him do it?”
About to toss Bai away, Mo Lan pauses, as his mind recalls the image of a young boy humming a tune while kicking some stones. The young boy is short, muddy, and almost bald, but his face carries traces of his future handsome visage. The boy simply hums, kicking stones this way and that, and at some point he starts to shake his butt and jiggle to the tune. Then, he catches sight of Mo Lan standing some distance away with a quirk to his lips, and his face blushes. With a cry of “how dare you spy on me! I’ll defeat you today!” The squirt sprints towards Mo Lan who, while getting ready to kick his ass, casually thinks of what a pity it is that the boy never finished his song…
“…My Lord?” Mo Lan looks down. Seeing him calmer, Bai quickly presents his proposal. “My Lord, it’s like this, in a few days Huo Ran has a concert. Just watch it once, see how much he loves to sing. And then you can decide if he should truly stop singing and focus on cultivation.”
Mo Lan stares at him. “Concert?”
“Ah, basically he’ll be singing songs for people.”
“With that mortal woman?”
“Ah? What mortal woman?”
Mo Lan stares at him. Bai quickly continues. “I don’t know who you’re talking about but he’ll be singing alone. So? What do you say?” Mo Lan looks down at the impudent fellow.
Four days later…
“I still don’t know how you brought him down here.” Jiang Ren says with a laugh, eying Mo Lan sitting to their right in the front row.
“It’s all thanks to my expertise.” Bai proudly pats himself on the chest.
“Ha! More like fearlessness to the point of idiocy.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Bai elbows Jiang Ren who responds with a grunt.
“Where is Huo Ran?” Bai blinks, turning to find Mo Lan staring at him.
“Ah…he’ll be here soon, don’t worry.”
“Hmm.” Mo Lan gazes distastefully around at the people milling around them. Finally, it’s time for the concert to start and Huo Ran steps on stage amidst shrieks of “I love you!” and “You’re amazing!!!” Hearing these, Mo Lan’s brow wrinkles further and further…until the man shining under the spot light opens his mouth and starts to sing. From more lively to softer and slower songs, Mo Lan keeps his gaze fixed on Huo Ran as the other immerses himself in the music. This time he’s jiggling his whole body even more violently than as a child for all these people and he doesn’t even seem ashamed at all. At this thought, Mo Lan’s brows briefly wrinkle before his attention is once again completely hooked by the man on the stage. Finally, Huo Ran comes to his last song and he takes a breath.
“Hey everyone, I wanted to say a little something before this last song.” As soon as he speaks cheers and shrieks ring out across the audience and Huo Ran’s smile deepens, which only intensifies the shrieks.
“This last song…is a bit of a last minute addition.” Backstage, Huo Ran’s agent laughs dryly at the understatement. Bit of a last minute? You wrote it four days ago!
On stage, Huo Ran continues. “This song, really culminates why I went into music. This may sound cliché but…music for me really is a way for me to express myself to those specific people who I truly want to express myself to. This particular song is for such a person, a person who I’ve wanted to express myself to for centuries…” at this the audience laughs, thinking it’s a joke. Huo Ran’s gaze scans the audience and comes to rest…on Mo Lan. The latter freezes. Why is he… “I’ve never been able to clearly say it, so now I’m using this song. I hope you all enjoy.” The lights dim and the music starts.
The music starts soft, slow, and crooning, painting a picture of childhood, the troubles and trivialities children are caught up in. The song tells the story of two characters, a younger character and an older one. The younger one constantly chases the older one, following in his footsteps, trying to grasp the hem of his robes. Slowly the song rises to its crescendo.
“You were my star in the sky…I could never catch you no matter how hard I tried…”
The song transitions from the vigor and innocence of youth to a a melancholic reflection in adulthood, with a passionate chorus calling out, crying out for the times when everything was simpler, yet reveling in the complexities that have arisen. Some may see the song as one about growing up, others may see it as a love song, yet to all it’s a song about making that connection, seizing that moment or person or opportunity, grasping them in your hands before it’s too late. Finally, the song slowly winds down and softly finishes. There’s a moment of silence. Then the audience breaks out in screams. After a bow Huo Ran disappears backstage.
Bai glances to the side and isn’t surprised to see that Mo Lan is gone. He and Jiang Ren slowly get up and consolidate their belongings. Jiang Ren sighs. Bai raises a brow at him.
“Regretting giving up before even trying?”
“Nah, it wouldn’t have worked out. He sees me as a brother, besides, eight hundred years and he hasn’t forgotten him. What do I have to compare?” He flashes Bai a melancholy smile. Bai shrugs.
“It was your decision and I respect that, that’s why I never tried to pair your two up.”
Backstage, Mo Lan has reached Huo Ran and has cornered the other man against the wall of his dressing room.
“You love music, I…see that now. Therefore, you do not – do not need to cultivate…” Huo Ran looks at this fellow doing his best to grit out the words, his eyes stubbornly fixed on the wall and he feels his heart soften. Somehow all the complexities and issues that once seemed to matter so much, have evaporated away. What’s the point in being consumed by those trivialities now? With a sigh Huo Ran reaches his hands out to cup Mo Lan’s face and blocks his words with his lips. After a moment, he pulls away. Mo Lan stares at him, his eyes wide.
“You-you-you”
“Do you know what that is?” Huo Ran asks softly, bringing his forehead to rest against Mo Lan’s. “That’s a kiss. I kissed you because I like you.” Upon receiving no response from Mo Lan, Huo Ran sighs and adds, “it means I want to become your dao companion.”
Mo Lan simply stares at him, as if entranced.
“Are you willing?” Huo Ran asks, staring directly into the other’s eyes. Mo Lan remains frozen. “Mo Lan?” Furrowing his brow, he reaches out a hand to wave it in front of Mo Lan’s unresponsive visage. Immediately the hand is seized and Huo Ran feels himself being yanked towards the other. Their lips smash together and, despite his lack of skill, Mo Lan makes up for it with enthusiasm and intensity, as if all his frustration with the other and the ferocity from their fights is transferred into that kiss. It’s a battle of lips and teeth and tongue. Huo Ran winces as Mo Lan nearly bites his tongue but they remain passionately entangled until Huo Ran finally separates, panting. Mo Lan frowns, unsatisfied but Huo Ran slowly smiles.
“So you are willing?”
From that day forth the two of them are inseparable. Not wanting to lose, Mo Lan works on his cooking skills as well as his kissing skills. Huo Ran grudgingly starts cultivating again when he realizes that his current physique is insufficient to bear Mo Lan in certain, ahem, adult activities.
“Why am I the bottom?” Huo Ran whines in a certain bar.
“Because your cultivation is weaker.” Jiang Ren responds, never one to mince his words and that would later become Huo Ran’s motivation to return to his arduous struggle to catch up with Mo Lan’s unfathomable cultivation. But that’s later. For now…
“Screw you.”
“Anytime.”
“Shut up.”
“Oh, your keeper is here.” Jiang Ren says, glancing up.
“Ran. Hearing that familiar voice, Huo Ran looks up briefly towards the other’s icy visage. Remembering his earlier conversation topic with Jiang Ren, Huo Ran turns away from Mo Lan with a soft “hmph!”
“Ran.” Mo Lan calls again.
“I won’t listen to youaaaaa!” Huo Ran cries as the impatient Mo Lan simply scoops up his partner with his superior cultivation. “Ahhhhhhh the world is spinning.” Huo Ran moans, rolling around like a flopping fish. Mo Lan turns to Jiang Ren. “I will be taking him now.” He says solemnly.
“Get out of here.” Jiang Ren waves him and the whining Huo Ran away. Technically cultivators can’t get drunk on normal alcohol but Jiang Ren, after Huo Ran’s repeated complaining, succeeded in refining some specific varieties which could affect cultivators so his bar is a cultivator hotspot. However, at the moment his bar is dead silent, all eyes fixed on the man with the icy aura fetching his fiery little boyfriend. But one day, this sight will become so common that people will discuss it along with commonplace subjects like the weather…
“Look, the frost seems to be melting!”
“That’s right, spring must finally be here!”
“That’s right, another spring of another year.”
“But not just any year. This year the Azure Lord and Young Fire Prince have gotten together!”
“That’s right! And the Azure Lord has become a lot softer, did you see him smiling at Jiang Ren’s bar the other day?”
“Wow! I guess love really can do wonders. By the way though, do you think I should buy that store’s new spring collection?”
“Oh I know which one you’re talking about! You totally should. Weren’t we just talking about it? Spring is here!”
– Passerby A and B in the modern cultivation world
And so, winter is gone and spring has arrived. The buds are blooming and the snow has thawed, just like a certain Azure Lord’s heart which is still fervently burning for his sweet little fireheart.
Author’s Note:
Hi Everyone, that’s the end of our main story! Please stick around for our two extras (yes I said two). I was originally only going to do one but I had to give both our amazing side characters an extra story so stay tuned!
camping!!!
Thank you for this dose of dog food ( ꈍᴗꈍ) One fluffy chapter a day keeps the angst novels away~
I love that phrase!😂
This was cute!
(✪ω✪)/
Such a cute and wholesome novel. I enjoy reading it a lot 💜
This was a really fun concept, thanks for writing and sharing this story
This was a fun little story, thank you so much!