Shen Yuan holds onto his questions until they've both sat down to eat.
"I'm afraid not," he says regretfully. "Or rather, it's useful to know where I am in the world; but I can't recall ever having visited any of the places on the map before."
He fills his bowl, leaving many of the best pieces for his host. "Is Lan-gongzi someone of importance to his sect, then, since he bears its name as his own?" he asks curiously. "If so I fear I may never be able to repay my debt to him."
"There is no debt, so please, do not trouble yourself over such matter. I am only glad you were mostly unharmed."
Grievous memory loss and weird bitemark notwithstanding.
He picks his own favourites; small portions and avoiding any dishes with obvious meat in them.
"In any case, most in the sect carries the name 'Lan'," he explains, hiding a small smile behind his sleeve. "Though I do occupy a position of power within. I am the Sect Leader."
It feels awkward saying it like this over dinner, and while he's glad for the subject to come up naturally, he'd have preferred things to remain less socially stratified for the time being.
Shen Yuan stares, blinks, and stares some more. An unbidden image springs to mind, of Yue Qingyuan -- or worse, the Old Palace Master -- tramping around in the woods as Lan Xichen had done, looking for whatever trouble found him. It's so incongrous with their personalities and status that he has to literally bite his tongue not to laugh out loud. But then his mind starts playing a lowlights reel of all the things that can go wrong on a night hunt -- that time Liu Qingge got swarmed by succubi, the time Shen Qingqiu himself was kidnapped and stripped by a skinner demon, every time he's nearly gotten a facefull of psychoactive pollen while trying to gather herbs for the sect -- and instead of laughing he feels the urge to grab Lan Xichen by the arms and shake him. 'What were you thinking?' he wants to demand. 'What do you think would happen to your sect if something happened to you??'
But that's none of his business or his place to say; if anything it would be bad for his cover, so Shen Yuan refrains. "I see," he says instead, subdued. "Then I can only thank Sect Leader Lan, once again, for his kindness." He bows his head slightly in gratitude and focuses on eating.
A few minutes later he helps himself to some of the pork and chicken Lan Xichen is obviously avoiding. Just so it won't go to waste, of course.
In Lan Xichen's defense, he was strolling, not tramping; he has never tramped, tromped or even galumphed in his entire life.
It's against at least one of the 3500 rules he adheres... fairly strictly to.
"I am only glad that I was able to help," he says, a small, serene smile passing over his face.
It's good that Yuan has an appetite, he thinks. There's a reason he asked for variety.
"I have read that taste and scent are the best ways of breaking through amnesia. If we can even restore your short term memory, then we may be able to work backwards from there. In the meantime, I will ask others to keep an eye out for anyone who may be looking for you."
Lan Xichen is being so earnest about him that Shen Yuan feels a little bad about tricking him like this. Not enough to stop though. He nods, not even actually feigning the polite interest and gratitude, and says, "Sect Leader Lan of course knows best. In the meantime this Yuan will do his best not to be a further source of inconvenience for him and his sect."
He's already thinking about his next move. If this latest transmigration reverses himself and he wakes up back in Trench, great. But he can't count on that, which means he needs to start establishing a legitimate place for himself in this world. The protection of a powerful sect would be perfect in that regard, even if he can only find himself a place in it as a servant or outer disciple. He can always build on that later if he needs to; right now he just doesn't want to end up sleeping in the streets.
"Really, it is no trouble. Is it not the job of a cultivator to offer what aid they can in these situations?"
He takes a sip of tea, and inclines his head to the letter he'd been working on.
"In the meantime, I'm writing to a friend about your particular situation. If he has ever stumbled across something similar in a text, he will certainly be able to remember it."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2022-10-21 02:37 am (UTC)"I'm afraid not," he says regretfully. "Or rather, it's useful to know where I am in the world; but I can't recall ever having visited any of the places on the map before."
He fills his bowl, leaving many of the best pieces for his host. "Is Lan-gongzi someone of importance to his sect, then, since he bears its name as his own?" he asks curiously. "If so I fear I may never be able to repay my debt to him."
no subject
Date: 2022-10-21 03:05 am (UTC)Grievous memory loss and weird bitemark notwithstanding.
He picks his own favourites; small portions and avoiding any dishes with obvious meat in them.
"In any case, most in the sect carries the name 'Lan'," he explains, hiding a small smile behind his sleeve. "Though I do occupy a position of power within. I am the Sect Leader."
It feels awkward saying it like this over dinner, and while he's glad for the subject to come up naturally, he'd have preferred things to remain less socially stratified for the time being.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-21 04:08 pm (UTC)But that's none of his business or his place to say; if anything it would be bad for his cover, so Shen Yuan refrains. "I see," he says instead, subdued. "Then I can only thank Sect Leader Lan, once again, for his kindness." He bows his head slightly in gratitude and focuses on eating.
A few minutes later he helps himself to some of the pork and chicken Lan Xichen is obviously avoiding. Just so it won't go to waste, of course.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-21 06:51 pm (UTC)It's against at least one of the 3500 rules he adheres... fairly strictly to.
"I am only glad that I was able to help," he says, a small, serene smile passing over his face.
It's good that Yuan has an appetite, he thinks. There's a reason he asked for variety.
"I have read that taste and scent are the best ways of breaking through amnesia. If we can even restore your short term memory, then we may be able to work backwards from there. In the meantime, I will ask others to keep an eye out for anyone who may be looking for you."
no subject
Date: 2022-10-21 10:52 pm (UTC)He's already thinking about his next move. If this latest transmigration reverses himself and he wakes up back in Trench, great. But he can't count on that, which means he needs to start establishing a legitimate place for himself in this world. The protection of a powerful sect would be perfect in that regard, even if he can only find himself a place in it as a servant or outer disciple. He can always build on that later if he needs to; right now he just doesn't want to end up sleeping in the streets.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-21 11:09 pm (UTC)"Really, it is no trouble. Is it not the job of a cultivator to offer what aid they can in these situations?"
He takes a sip of tea, and inclines his head to the letter he'd been working on.
"In the meantime, I'm writing to a friend about your particular situation. If he has ever stumbled across something similar in a text, he will certainly be able to remember it."